Walmart has announced layoffs that will impact more than 1,500 corporate roles, including many in its technology and advertising business units.
The pink slips will affect workers across Walmart’s technology businesses, including its advertising unit called Walmart Connect and its e-commerce departments.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the layoffs. Many of the positions affected are based in California, where Walmart operates a technology hub. SF Gate, a website affiliated with the San Francisco Chronicle, said documents filed with state regulators indicated more than 100 employees will be let go in California.
The layoffs come several months after Walmart closed on its $2 billion acquisition of smart television maker Vizio, a move that was intended to bolster its retail-focused advertising business.
Walmart executives recently warned that tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump would affect its business, primarily by influencing price hikes on items found in stores and online.
The layoffs announced on Wednesday are not directly tied to the tariffs, the Journal said. Instead, in a memo titled “Building for the Future,” Walmart executives said the layoffs were necessary in order to streamline operations at Walmart’s stores and in other parts of its business that leverage current and emerging technology.
“The world of technology is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and reshaping our structure allows us to accelerate how we deliver and adapt to the changing environment around us,” the memo said.
Walmart is the largest private employer in the country, employing around 1.6 million workers, many of whom are retail employees in its brick-and-mortar stores or who work in its store-and-online fulfillment centers.
