In a memo sent to employees on Tuesday, Walmart announced it is laying off hundreds of corporate workers and asking most remote employees to return to offices, primarily at its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company stated publicly that these changes are aimed at promoting collaboration and strengthening its culture.
Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, is making significant staffing adjustments, cutting jobs for hundreds of corporate workers and urging most remote employees to relocate to offices. Some will be moved to the company’s new 350-acre campus in Bentonville, while others will work from offices in the San Francisco Bay Area or Hoboken, New Jersey.
In February 2022, Walmart brought corporate employees back to its Bentonville headquarters after remote work during the Covid pandemic. Now, the company wants to take collaboration a step further by relocating many workers to the Arkansas campus and other offices. However, employees are not quite as excited about the transition.
The memo from Chief People Officer Donna Morris stated that bringing more employees together would help drive innovation and strengthen the company’s culture. She also spoke to the recent wave of layoffs, stating that some business areas made changes that resulted in a reduction of several hundred campus roles.
Walmart is asking most associates working remotely or in smaller offices in Dallas, Atlanta, and Toronto to relocate to larger hubs. The majority of these employees will be moved to Bentonville, but some may work from the San Francisco Bay Area or Hoboken offices.
The company did not specify an exact number of jobs being cut as a result of the changes. It is unclear how many employees will be affected by the relocations.
In late April, Walmart shut down 51 health clinics across several states, citing financial instability for the business. The clinics were originally opened as part of an effort to lower costs in the healthcare industry. But the discount store has since decided to shut down the health clinics and focus efforts on the sale of their products.
Walmart operates over 4,600 stores in the U.S. and is the world’s largest retailer. By bringing more employees together in-office, the company aims to increase collaboration and innovation within its workforce.
The memo from Morris stated that staff would still be allowed to work remotely and part-time, as long as they spent a majority of their time in offices. This policy is designed to maintain some flexibility for employees while promoting more in-person interaction.
Companies worldwide are encouraging employees to return to the office. Walmart joins other large corporations, such as Apple and Facebook, in making this transition. However, not all employees are eager to re-adapt to a commute after becoming comfortable working remotely following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The layoffs and relocations come just days before Walmart releases its much-anticipated earnings report on Thursday. The staffing changes mark the latest cost-cutting measure for the business.
