Walmart Slashing Corporate Jobs in Cost-Cutting Move: Report
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Walmart, Inc. is tightening up its corporate staffing structure, laying off hundreds of employees and consolidating regional offices. In addition, the company is shifting away from the work-from-home model and asking remote workers to return to office settings for a majority of their week.
Citing sources closely connected to Walmart, the WSJ article noted that Walmart employees in “smaller offices” in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto will move to the headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., or larger central hubs in Hoboken, N.J., or northern California.
Walmart has yet to comment on the newspaper’s report, but has announced other efficiency-driven changes this year. In late April, the retail giant shared that it is shuttering its Walmart Health segment after determining it is not a sustainable business for the organization. In February, reports emerged that Walmart was closing U.S. technology hubs in Austin, Texas, Portland, Ore., and Carlsbad, Calif., and shuffling those workers to other locations. Also closing: an innovation hub called Store Nº8, staffed by team members in Bentonville, Hoboken, N.J., and Los Angeles.
The retailer will host its first quarter earnings call on May 16, recapping its performance for the opening period of its 2025 fiscal year. During the fourth quarter of FY2024, Walmart reported consolidated revenue of $173.4 billion, up 5.7%, with share gains in grocery and general merchandise, primarily among higher-income households.
As Walmart streamlines other offices, the company continues to work on its new 350-acre campus in Bentonville, which includes several buildings, outdoor areas, child care center and eateries and is set to open in 2025.
Each week, approximately 255 million customers and members visit Walmart’s more than 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries. With fiscal year 2024 revenue of $648 billion, Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while its Sam’s Club division is No. 8. PG also named Walmart one of its Retailers of the Century.
