- Walmart is cutting hundreds of corporate jobs in its latest cost-cutting move
- It also asks remote workers to return to the office.
- Last year it said 65% of its stores would be automated.
Walmart is cutting hundreds of corporate jobs and asking most of its remote workers to return to the office, after it cut thousands of warehouse jobs across the country.
Although remote workers will be allowed to work from home part-time, the retail monolith is also asking small office workers in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto to start working from more central hubs, as part of a cost-cutting move. , Wall Street Journal reported.
Walmart’s share price faltered slightly yesterday, reaching a high of 61.30 points, before falling to 60.29 points. But Walmart’s stock price is near its all-time high.
The news comes after the largest U.S. employer announced it would lay off 2,000 warehouse employees who pack online orders and work to automate 65% of its stores by 2026.
“As changes are implemented across the company, one result is roles that require less physical labor but have a higher rate of pay,” the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer said in a filing last year. past.
Although remote workers will be allowed to work from home part-time, the retail monolith is also asking small office workers to start working from more central hubs (File Image)
Walmart’s stock price wobbled slightly yesterday, reaching a high of 61.30 points, before falling to 60.29 points (File image of Walmart Inc. Chairman and CEO Doug McMillon).
Walmart stock price near all-time high
“Over time, the company anticipates increased performance per person due to automation, maintaining or even increasing its number of associates as new roles are created,” he added.
About 55% of the packages it processes through its fulfillment centers will move through automated facilities by January 2026, improving average unit costs by about 20 percent, the company said.
“This increased efficiency will not only support better inventory management, but will also support the rapid growth of Walmart’s e-commerce business,” Stephens Inc analyst Ben Bienvenu wrote in a note.
Walmart, which employed approximately 2.1 million associates as of January 2024, also closed three of its technology offices last year and asked many of its staff to relocate to central corporate centers.
The company has so far announced the closure of eight stores from the beginning of 2024, which will affect more than 1,000 workers in California, Maryland, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Walmart, which employed approximately 2.1 million associates as of January 2024, closed three of its technology offices last year.
Last month, it announced it would eliminate all 51 health clinics it built over the past five years.
The stores were not meeting financial expectations, Walmart said, adding that affected workers would be offered the option to move to other nearby stores and warehouses. Last year, the retail giant announced the closure of 22 stores nationwide.
Last month, it announced it would eliminate the 51 health clinics it had built over the past five years in a bid to build a larger health care business.
Last year it said it planned to have a total of 75 by the end of 2024, although it said rising costs were making “the healthcare business unsustainable for us right now.”
Also facing a tough time in the healthcare business is CVS Pharmacy, which last year eliminated 5,000 corporate jobs.
Customer-facing functions were not affected by the August layoffs, although the company cracked down on travel expenses and the use of consultants and vendors for its services.