Walmart is gearing to lay off hundreds of employees and relocate many others, as per reports by Fox Business and Daily Mail.
The American multinational retail company with headquarters in Arkansas is in the process of closing its office in North Carolina.
While the exact number of employees to be impacted is not known yet, given that the company runs stores across the US as well as other countries, these sudden layoffs are concerning.
Employees have reportedly been informed that some of them will have to relocate to other offices or to the headquarters. Those working in the Hoboken office in New Jersey as well as other smaller offices have already been asked to relocate to Arkansas. Some are likely to be relocated to Sunnyvale, California. Those who have been offered the option of relocation have reportedly been asked to let the company know of their decision to accept or reject the offer within a month.
These changes are part of Walmart’s efforts to streamline processes and do away with some roles. The objective is to preserve the primary capabilities even while increasing the energy and drive of the teams and their workflows.
In May 2024 too Walmart had asked employees at its smaller offices in Atlanta, Dallas and Toronto to relocate to the corporate office or to other central hubs. The workforce strength of Walmart at the start of 2024, was about 2.1 million, globally. At the time it was reported that it had been trying to reduce the headcount in preparation for automation.