On Monday, a Walmart company spokesperson, in a statement to Reuters news service, revealed that the retail giant will close three of its US technology hubs, requiring hundreds of employees to relocate in order to keep their jobs.
In addition, under the plan, almost all of the company’s technology employees would be required to work from their offices for at least two days per week, according to Robert Munroe, Walmart’s director of global communications.
The plan will see the retailer close offices which house technology staff in Austin, Texas, in Carlsbad, California, and in Portland, Oregon, according to Munroe. Those jobs would be transferred to other tech hubs, including San Bruno, California, as well as the company’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. Reuters cited a company memo sent last week by Suresh Kumar, the company’s head of global technology.
He said, “We have decided, looking at our location strategy, that we will exit those three hubs.” He noted the reorganization would involve hundreds of employees.
He added, “Everything is variable; there is no set date that (this transfer) must be completed.”
According to Walmart’s website, the company presently operates 11 tech hubs in the United States, and six more overseas.
Munroe noted the company, which employs over 1.3 million people in the United States, would pay for the transfer costs of its employees who chose to relocate, and would pay severance to those who chose to leave the company rather than relocate.
In requiring workers to return to the office, Walmart is following in the footsteps of other large companies such as Walt Disney Co, Uber, and Starbucks. Bob Iger at Disney issued a directive to employees last month, requiring them to return to the office for four days per week beginning in March, while Starbucks issued a similar requirement which began in January, requiring employees return to the office for at least three days per week.
The move to working from the office marked a reversal for the global technology head at Walmart, who two years ago wrote, “We believe the future in tech will be one in which working virtually will be the new normal, at least for most of the work we lead.”
Munroe noted, “This (move) is still within line to that language.”
