Walmart plans to cut or relocate about 1,000 corporate jobs as it reorganizes its global technology and product-design teams to better align work on tech and artificial intelligence, according to company statements and media reports on Tuesday. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Suresh Kumar and Daniel Danker said the company had "made changes to simplify how the work is organized, make ownership clearer and better align roles to the work and skills we need going forward." [1] In the Chinese-language version of the statement, they said the changes were meant to simplify how work is organized, clarify responsibility and better match roles with the work and skills needed in the future. [2]
Walmart said it would help affected workers find other roles inside the company when possible. [1, 2, 4, 6] The restructuring covers its global technology and product/design teams, and some affected employees may be asked to move to offices in Bentonville, Arkansas, or Northern California, according to one report. [3, 4, 5, 6]
Reports on May 13 said the cuts or relocations would affect about 1,000 corporate jobs. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] One report said the company was not changing jobs so that more work would be automated by AI. [4, 5] Walmart has been closing smaller offices and streamlining parts of its business in recent years, after years of expansion that helped make it one of the largest private employers in the U.S. [1, 6]
The company told employees in a memo on May 12 that it would simplify how work is organized and adjust some roles. [4, 5] The latest reports on May 13 said the company had not disclosed exactly how many employees would be cut versus relocated. [1, 3, 4, 5, 6]
