Walmart on Tuesday announced plans to cut hundreds of jobs at its headquarters and relocate the majority of its remote employees, based in the United States and Canada, to three offices. This is a shift in strategy after initially favoring virtual work during the pandemic.
In a memo to U.S. campuses, Donna Morris, Walmart’s chief human resources officer, said: “We have the majority of our employees working remotely, as well as our employees within our global tech offices in Atlanta, Dallas and Toronto. We are asking the majority of our staff to relocate.” Tuesday Associate.
The company, the world’s largest retailer and the nation’s largest private employer with 2.1 million workers worldwide, said the majority of the move will be to its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, but some will be moved to San Francisco.・The company said it would move to an office in the Bay Area or Hoboken, New Jersey. .
Morris said in the memo that the purpose of the move was not only to bring more people together more often, but also to strengthen Walmart’s culture and advance the careers of its employees.
The retail giant also said it would cut “several hundred” positions at its headquarters as part of changes to its business, but did not provide details.
Reuters reported news of the move on the same day.
A person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said in a Monday “business update” call that remote workers will have until July 1 to make decisions that will require them to relocate or quit. It is said that he was given this. The person added that Walmart plans to close offices in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto later this year.
Those who choose to leave will receive two weeks’ pay in severance for every year they worked at Walmart, officials said.
Walmart said it will speak with directly affected employees and work with them on next steps.
A new normal?
Like other U.S. companies, Walmart is shifting its strategy toward more in-person work after years of remote work due to the pandemic. At one point, he championed remote work as the new norm.
“The future of the tech industry means working virtually is the new normal, at least for most of the jobs we lead,” Suresh Kumar, head of global technology operations at Walmart, said in a 2021 LinkedIn post. I believe that the era will come when this will become the case.”
But it gradually moved away from the stance. In 2023, the company will close three technology offices and ask some staff to relocate to central corporate locations.
Meanwhile, Walmart new headquarters The store, located just a few miles from its previous location in northwest Arkansas, is scheduled to open in phases in 2025.
The sprawling 350-acre campus is designed to accommodate more than 15,000 employees in 12 buildings, according to Walmart’s website.
“This is likely just one part of a broader effort to streamline operations. Requiring remote workers to come into the office is a shortcut to encouraging retirement rather than downsizing,” he said. said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, which manages ETFs and ETFs.
“Giving people the option of relocating to a hub isn’t that much of a choice. It’s more of a choice to quit or not,” Jacobsen added.
The company is scheduled to announce first-quarter results on Thursday. Walmart stock closed 0.9% lower at $59.86 on Tuesday.
