The announcement comes as part of Walmart’s plan to restructure its business in an attempt to bring employees closer. According to the company’s Chief People Officer (CPO), this will result in a workforce that can collaborate on new innovations and “move even faster.”

The retail giant’s announcement will affect hundreds of corporate positions throughout the company and is part of an extensive relocation plan being ushered in by the company.

Morris said changes in “some parts of our business will result in a reduction of several hundred campus roles.”

This news confirms the closure of nine Walmart stores in the US in 2024.

According to Business Insider, these stores were not meeting the financial performance expectations that the company has for its supermarket stores.

“We look forward to continuing to serve them at any of our many locations across the area, on Walmart.com, and through delivery to their home or business.”

However, despite Walmart’s vast network of over 4,600 retail locations in the US, which includes 3,559 Supercenters, 357 discount stores, and 673 Neighborhood Markets, some locations are not meeting the standards of the mega-retailer.

Supercenters employ around 200 people and sell everything from groceries to electronics and home furnishings. Neighborhood Markets work differently, as they employ only 95 people and mostly focus on food, household supplies, and pharmacies.

Additionally, Walmart will build or expand more than 150 stores in the next five years.

This is part of Walmart’s Store of the Future initiative, which will include energy-efficient equipment and lighting, lower impact refrigerators, and coast-to-coast EV fast charging stations that are affordable.

Some stores have resorted to putting high-interest and high-value items behind lock and key to prevent theft, while others, like Walmart, are increasing prices to offset losses.

“We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the city [of Chicago]… It was hoped that these investments would help improve our stores’ performance. Unfortunately, these efforts have not materially improved the fundamental business challenges our stores are facing.”

“We’ve got safety measures, security measures that we’ve put in place by store location. I think local law enforcement being staffed and being a good partner is part of that equation, and that’s normally how we approach it,” McMillon said.

This means that more people have been flocking to Walmart to buy food for their evening meals. It has even led to a 3.8% rise in transactions in stores and online throughout the last quarter.

This comes down to illegal pricing practices that have made it hard for consumers to comparison shop, despite New Jersey being one of nine states that require stores to use standard and easy-to-understand pricing practices.

It had to agree to improve employee training and randomly screen items to ensure they displayed the proper pricing measurements.

The store agreed to pay $1.2 million in a settlement, which includes a $1.18 million fine. These chargers were due to higher prices being scanned at the checkout than what had been posted on merchandise displays.

While the carts have had handy features added, such as a cup holder and a place for customers to put their smartphones or shopping lists, they have also been made taller, something many are unhappy with.

Organized retail theft comprises most of the shoplifting incidents, rather than petty theft.

“It’s really city by city, location by location. It’s store managers working with local law enforcement and we’ve got great relationships there for the most part,” he added.

The personnel have been requested to move to the retail giant’s main offices, which are situated in Hoboken, New Jersey, Bentonville, Arkansas and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Many of these employees, currently situated in small offices in Dallas, Atlanta, and Toronto, will need to relocate to major cities, such as Walmart’s global headquarters in New Jersey or Arkansas.

“Most relocations will be to our Home Office in Bentonville, but some will be to our offices in the San Francisco Bay Area or Hoboken/New York,” Morris said in the memo.

99 Cents announced in April that it would close all its locations in California, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. Over 1,000 Family Dollars and Dollar Trees stores will join them.

The CPO went on to explain the reasoning behind the recent layoffs. “We believe that being together, in person, makes us better and helps us to collaborate, innovate, and move even faster,” Morris said. “We also believe it helps strengthen our culture as well as grow and develop our associates.”

In the public message, Morris stated, “Although the number of positions lost is small in percentage, we are focused on supporting each of our associates affected by these changes,” (via GistFest).

She continued, “We have had discussions with associates who were directly impacted by these decisions. We will work closely with them in the coming days and months to navigate the best path forward.”

This is through initiatives such as potential retraining programs or job placement services. It could also include offering them skill development courses and helping them financially until they have found a new job.

Like Amazon Prime, Walmart+ offers subscribers a number of perks, including free shipping, store delivery, and a Paramount+ streaming subscription. These all cost just $98 per year, whereas an Amazon Prime subscription costs $139 per year.

This includes offering various deals, especially with Walmart launching its Walmart+ week, which mirrors Amazon’s Amazon Prime week. Walmart hopes this week will drive customers away from Amazon so that it can have more control of the market.

According to Business Insider, the return-to-office mandate “is a way of getting rid of employees without conducting mass layoffs.” Many refer to this method as quiet firing, as it is a subtle way to make job roles less appealing and ultimately motivate workers to quit.

In a statement released to the public, Walmart revealed its plans to close all 51 healthcare centers as it realized that it was “not a sustainable business model.”

Droesch theorized the closure of the health clinics could be “part of a restructuring that would allow Walmart to allocate additional resources to more profitable revenue streams, like advertising and fulfillment.”

“Walmart has also been laser-focused on creating alternative revenue streams that go beyond its retail business,” Droesch said.

Other ways it will implement changes include an AI personal shopping assistant, low-cost groceries, on-demand early morning delivery services, and the removal of self-checkout machines.

“These jobs are the true lifeblood of the retail business, and Walmart has prioritized workforce retention in what has become an increasingly competitive labor market.”