Walmart is making major strategic moves that involve laying off some employees and relocating others to two central hubs.
According to an internal memo written by Walmart’s Chief People Officer Donna Morris and seen by Fox Business on Tuesday, Walmart will be shutting down its Charlotte, North Carolina office and eliminating hundreds of roles in the process. Walmart did not specify the exact number of people affected or when the office would be shut down.
Workers in other places are being asked to relocate to two major Walmart sites. In the memo, Walmart gives corporate employees based in smaller offices, like one in Hoboken, New Jersey, the option to move to its 719,000-square-foot Sunnyvale, California office or its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.
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Employees have at least a month to inform Walmart if they plan to relocate.
“We are making these changes to put key capabilities together, encouraging speed and shared understanding,” Morris wrote in the memo.
Inside Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville. Credit: Walmart
Walmart has been working to bring its workforce together in person, and into bigger hubs, for years. In February 2022, the retailer asked its corporate employees based in Bentonville to come back to the office five days per week.
In May 2024, the retailer began implementing a relocation strategy by announcing that it would require hundreds of remote workers to work in person at headquarters or other offices by October 31. While some employees chose to quit rather than return to the office, Morris told Bloomberg in August that most chose to relocate.
Walmart at the time also required staff based in Dallas, Atlanta, and Toronto to move to bigger offices, like its headquarters.
Walmart began building a 350-acre home campus in Bentonville in 2019 with amenities like an on-campus childcare center and 360,000-square-foot gym. It opened the doors to the campus’ 12 office buildings last month.
The retailer also announced its plans last month to open a new office in Bellevue, Washington by late spring 2025, expanding its presence in the state.
Walmart is the world’s largest employer, with 2.1 million employees in 2023.
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