Walmart to lay off hundreds of corporate staff, relocate others

NEW YORK: Walmart is cutting hundreds of corporate jobs and asking most remote workers to relocate to three main tech offices or quit the company, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Workers at the US retail giant’s smaller offices in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto are being asked to move to other central hubs such as Walmart’s corporate base in Bentonville, Arkansas, as well as Hoboken, New Jersey, or Sunnyvale, California, the source told Reuters. Walmart will close those smaller hubs later this year, the source added.

On a “business update” call with employees on Monday, remote workers were given until July 1 to make a decision about relocating or to quit with severance, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Those who choose to leave will receive two weeks pay for every year they worked at Walmart as severance, the source said.

Walmart’s job cuts underscore its efforts to cut costs as discretionary spending in the United States remains strained. Spending among Americans has remained weak compared to 2021, at least for non-essential, discretionary merchandise like clothing, according to surveys by Deloitte.

The retailer is set to report first-quarter results on Thursday. Walmart employed about 2.1 million workers as of Jan. 31, most of them store and warehouse associates.

Walmart shares were down 1.2% at $59.66 in midday trading on Tuesday.

Walmart is in the middle of building a new headquarters complex just a few miles from its old one in Arkansas. Built on a 350-acre (140 hectares) property, the campus will include 12 office buildings, a hotel, a childcare and fitness center and multiple outdoor spaces dotted with restaurants and stores, according to Walmart’s website.