Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Walmart is laying off corporate staff in the US to “remove layers and complexity.”
The retailer will lay off 1,500 employees, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, reported that the layoffs were in the company’s Arkansas headquarters and other offices.
The retailer’s US CEO, John Furner, and global technology chief, Suresh Kumar, announced the layoffs in a Wednesday memo to corporate staff titled “Building for the future,” seen by BI.
“We are reshaping some teams in our Global Tech and Walmart U.S. organizations where we have identified opportunities to remove layers and complexity, speed up decision-making, and help associates innovate rapidly,” the memo wrote.
It added that the technology team would be slimmed down to simplify its structure and “facilitate speed and innovation.”
Aside from the layoffs, Walmart will also be opening new roles that align with its business priorities and growth strategy, the memo read.
Walmart is not the only company flattening its corporate structure. Big Tech companies, like Amazon, Google, and Intel, have been cutting middle managers to boost efficiency.
On the retail side, Amazon said in September that it would increase the ratio of its workers to supervisors by at least 15%.
The news of Walmart’s layoffs comes about a week after the retailer announced in an earnings call that it would increase the prices of its products due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Walmart said it imports a third of what it sells in the US from outside the country, such as China, Vietnam, and Mexico. Although Trump has paused his additional tariffs, Walmart’s CFO said reduced tariff rates are still “too high.”
“Even at the reduced levels, the higher tariffs will result in higher prices,” CEO Doug McMillon said in the earnings call.
Walmart reported a 2.5% revenue growth in its latest quarter compared to the year before, with sales of $165.60 billion.
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