Wal-Mart employee
Wal-Mart abruptly closed five stores earlier this month and laid off more than 2,200 employees in the process.
The company said it closed the stores because of severe plumbing problems that, in addition to other potential upgrades, could take as long as six months to fix.
Critics have questioned the closures, with some contending that at least one store was closed in retaliation against worker protests for higher pay. Wal-Mart denies those claims.
Wal-Mart notified workers of the closures a couple of hours ahead of time and gave them a packet of information addressing the situation, according to OUR Walmart, a labor group representing the laid-off workers.
In the handout, the company offers workers "stress management tips" to cope with their loss of employment such as avoiding caffeine, chocolate, nicotine, and alcohol.
"Care for yourself by eating well, exercising, and resting when needed," Wal-Mart advises, according to photos of the handout provided to Business Insider by OUR Walmart. (Gawker first reported on the handout).
The handout also encourages workers to seek help from a professional counselor and assures that "difficulty sleeping, nightmares, flashbacks, and feelings of being 'hyper-alert' are common and will diminish in time."
Wal-Mart laid off 2,200 workers, then told them to avoid chocolate and alcohol - Yahoo Finance