Walmart Inc. WMT is set to lay off hundreds of corporate employees and relocate others to its main corporate hubs.
What Happened: Walmart, the largest employer in the U.S. with 1.6 million workers, is downsizing its corporate workforce and asking remote employees to move to its main corporate hubs, reported The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.
The affected employees are based in smaller offices in Dallas, Atlanta, and Toronto. They are being asked to relocate to Walmart’s corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., Hoboken, N.J., or Northern California.
Walmart will still allow partial remote work, but employees are expected to be in the office for the majority of their working hours. The move comes as Walmart, like many other companies, is reducing its remote work flexibility and consolidating its smaller offices.
The retail giant has been working to cut costs in some areas while prioritizing spending elsewhere. Last month, Walmart announced the closure of all 51 of its health clinics, which it had opened over the past five years in an attempt to expand its healthcare business.
Why It Matters: This move by Walmart follows a series of strategic decisions made by the retail giant. In April, Walmart announced the closure of all its healthcare clinics due to rising costs, while its pharmacies and vision centers remained unaffected.
On the other hand, Walmart has been making bold moves in other areas, such as its private food brand, Bettergoods, which was launched in May, marking its largest private brand food launch in 20 years. This move aimed to make quality, trend-forward, and chef-inspired food approachable and affordable, with most items priced under $5.
Walmart’s recent decision to cut jobs and relocate workers aligns with similar moves by other major companies. In April, Google‘s parent company Alphabet Inc. announced layoffs across key teams to align resources with its most significant product priorities and reduce bureaucracy.
Meanwhile, electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive Inc also announced workforce cuts in April, following a similar move by Tesla Inc, as part of its push for profitability.
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