Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) created two new senior posts for its U.S. stores on Friday, naming a new chief operating officer and a new head of human resources.

The decisions come amid a period of slow profit growth and image problems for its U.S. stores. CEO of U.S. Wal-Mart stores Eduardo Castro-Wright said the management shakeup was another stage in a three year plan to increase sales and profitability.

Bill Simon and Pat Curran will take on the roles of chief operating officer and executive vice president of People respectively. Both will report to Castro-Wright.

Simon previously headed the company's professional services business, and was a force behind the firm's recent push to drive down generic drug prices. All five operations presidents, representing more than 3,400 stores will report to him.

Castro Wright said that the company wants to bring its human resources support closer to the business. Last year it established human resource manager in 343 markets. Curran, had been the vice president of store operations for the mid-Atlantic and Southeast areas. Wal-mart has more than 1.1 million employees at its U.S. stores.

The company has recently lost lawsuits relating to employee compensation and

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