Trump says Walmart cut prices at his request, but Walmart statement omits administration’s role

RETAIL

President Trump on Monday sought to take credit for recent price cuts by Walmart, but a statement by the retailer made no mention of the administration’s involvement in its decision. The president has faced public backlash over inflation rising during his watch, as prices climbed initially in the aftermath of his tariffs and later with the start of the Iran war in late February. “I have just been informed that one of the biggest, best, and smartest Retailers in America, Walmart, will be lowering prices, by a lot, at my Administration’s request to celebrate our great Country’s 250th birthday,” Trump said. “Walmart will, in particular, be dropping the price for a pound of ground beef by almost 15 percent, among many other products.” Walmart has benefited in part from higher inflation under Trump, as consumers have turned to its stores and website in search of lower prices, according to its quarterly earnings released in May. The company, in a statement issued Monday after the president’s post, said its price rollbacks at Walmart and Sam’s Club “are designed to help customers and members make the most” of the summer season. There was no mention of any interaction with the administration and the company did not publicly comment on Trump’s claims. The statement noted price cuts for ground beef, corn, red cherries, ice cream, potato chips, and Coca-Cola and Pepsi products. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

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HIGHER EDUCATION

Labouré College will lay off 65 employees as it winds down operations ahead of its acquisition by Curry College, according to a notice the school filed with the state. The layoffs come as the Milton-based health care college prepares to close its campus by the end of August after announcing earlier this year that it could no longer overcome “persistent financial and enrollment challenges.” Current students will be able to complete their degrees at nearby Curry College in Milton. Labouré’s nursing programs will transfer to Curry College, which will also launch the new Labouré Center for Advancing Healthcare Opportunity. The center is designed to help provide the resources and support Labouré provided to its diverse student population of adults, English language learners, and current health care workers who want to further their success. According to the most recent federal data, Labouré College in 2024 enrolled about 530 undergraduate students and had 23 full-time faculty members and 71 part-time faculty members. The four-year private nonprofit school offered one-year certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor’s degrees in nursing and health care. Curry plans to hire about 15 members of Labouré’s nursing faculty and 20 staff members from the college, according to Higher Ed Dive. It is unclear whether any of those members are among the 65 for whom the school warned of layoffs with the state. Labouré College did not respond to a request for comment. — BOSTON.COM

LABOR

Hundreds of staff members at Hachette Book Group voted to unionize on Tuesday, forming the largest union in American trade book publishing at one of the biggest publishers in the United States. Employees at Hachette imprints across the United States and Canada, including Little, Brown and Workman, voted 388 to 130 to join the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, under the name Hachette Workers Coalition. Representatives of the group said they established a union to secure salary increases and better benefits and protections, including a cap on working hours. A spokesperson for the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, Kathleen Floyd, said that the Hachette union comprises around 600 workers. The union’s formation reflects a broader push for workers’ rights in the publishing industry. The Hachette employees who led the unionization effort hope to negotiate a contract that secures pay raises at all levels. Currently, the minimum starting salary for Hachette employees in New York City is $52,500. A livable salary for a single adult in and around New York City is around $65,500, according to estimates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator. In addition to the ongoing concerns over pay and benefits, a growing number of publishing industry professionals worry about losing their jobs to artificial intelligence, as publishers adopt the technology in areas like marketing and promotion. Many fear that AI could soon be used more widely for jobs like editing, proofreading, and cover design, threatening the livelihoods of people in creative roles. “It’s very important to us as workers that our work doesn’t get replaced by AI, and that we can create protections to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Julia DeVarti, an associate editor at Little, Brown. After Hachette employees first announced their plans to unionize, in late April, Hachette declined to recognize the union. The company distributed flyers with information about the collective bargaining process noting that unionizing might jeopardize current benefits like discretionary bonuses and work flexibility, which could be revisited as part of future contract negotiations. In a statement shared with The New York Times, a spokesperson for Hachette said the company recognizes the results of Tuesday’s union election, and that respects its employees’ decision to unionize. — NEW YORK TIMES

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DEALS

Getty Images notified Shutterstock on Tuesday that it’s scrapping plans to combine the companies in a $3.7 billion deal because it didn’t want to comply with a key condition laid out by Britain’s antitrust regulator. In a filing, Getty said that it “delivered a written notice to Shutterstock terminating the Merger Agreement,” which was announced last year as part of a plan to create a visual content giant. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority had approved the deal following an investigation but only on condition that Shutterstock’s editorial business be sold to an approved buyer. The regulator was concerned that the combined company would result in a substantial lessening of competition resulting in reduced choice and higher prices for UK media outlets. Getty’s board had voted unanimously last week against proceeding with the deal if it required selling Shutterstock’s editorial business. Both companies license content including photos, illustrations, music, and videos to major British media companies, advertisers, publishers, and designers, as well as small and medium businesses in the creative industry, according to the CMA. The regulator said that the decision to scrap the deal was “a commercial choice” and noted that it was the two companies that had initially offered to sell the Shutterstock editorial business. Since issuing conditional approval in May, the UK regulators have “worked swiftly and closely with Getty and Shutterstock on the proposed sale and have engaged with several potential buyers to assess their suitability,” Margot Daly, who chaired the CMA’s investigation, said in a statement. “This process was at an advanced stage at the time of Getty’s announcement.” — ASSOCIATED PRESS

TRADE

The United States trade deficit in goods and services widened to $77.6 billion in May as the US imported more goods than it sold abroad. Imports rose, climbing 3.3 percent from the previous month, to hit $395.3 billion, as the United States imported more foreign pharmaceuticals, cellphones, cars, and equipment to fill out new data centers. US exports of goods and services fell 3.2 percent in the month, to $317.7 billion, according to data the Commerce Department released Tuesday. That included exports of gold, natural gas, computers, and pharmaceuticals, which all fell from the previous month. The drop in goods exports was offset somewhat by an increase in service exports, including more revenue earned from foreigners traveling to the United States. Exports and imports of services both hit a record in May, as did US petroleum exports. Goods imports also hit a record high in the month. The combination increased the monthly trade deficit, the gap between what the United States imports and what it exports. The US trade deficit in goods and services bounced up more than 42 percent from the prior month. The Trump administration has sought to reduce the trade deficit with a vast swath of tariffs on foreign goods. Those levies have caused imports, exports, and the trade deficit to fluctuate wildly since President Trump came into office. On average, the monthly trade deficit in goods since Trump’s second term began has been $96 billion in the 16 months since he returned to the White House. That’s down about 5 percent compared with the average monthly trade deficit in the 16 months before his presidency began. — NEW YORK TIMES

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