By Siddharth Cavale
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (Reuters) – Walmart investors voted against all nine shareholder-led proposals during the retail giant’s annual meeting on Wednesday, a preliminary tally by the company showed.
Shareholders were asked to vote on a number of issues including revealing its exposure to China and conducting an independent review of its safety practices related to gun violence. A proposal presented at the meeting also urged Walmart to disclose its funding to conservative political groups.
The shareholder-led proposal on gun violence, proposed by Walmart worker Cynthia Murray, received nearly 24% of the shares that were voted, the highest among all the other shareholder resolutions, a tally of the results showed.
“The results of today’s Walmart shareholder meeting prove that investors are also concerned about our safety at work, and my fellow Walmart workers and I will continue to fight for a Workplace Safety & Violence Review,” Murray said in a statement to Reuters.
“Every person deserves to be safe at work, and every employer has an obligation to protect employees and customers from harm,” she said. The National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative group, which pushed Walmart to disclose its exposure to China, received just 1.3% of the shares voted. About 90.8% of all outstanding shares were represented at the meeting, Walmart said. Walmart shareholders also voted in favor of company-led proposals including electing each of its 11 directors for a one-year term and compensation for its chief executive and other top leaders for 2023, the company said.
Proposals needed 51% of shareholder votes to win, which Walmart would adopt if passed. Walmart will provide the official voting results for each item in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bentonville, Arkansas; Additional reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul)
