A massive retailer is now laying off due to closures happening across the United States as it shifts its focus on ‘automation’.
Walmart is reportedly laying off hundreds of corporate employees in its latest cut after closing eight stores, several news sources are reporting.
The multi-million dollar corporation is also urging remote workers to come into offices, according to reports.
Walmart, which operates 5,000 stores in the US, will continue to allow employees to remain at home part-time as long as they work in the office a majority of the time, Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.
The outlet exclusively reported the news of Walmart’s job cuts but did not include when the reduction would be happening or how many jobs would specifically be lost.
Prior to the news about layoffs, Walmart confirmed eight stores across four states would close in 2024.
“We are grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them at our San Diego and El Cajon stores,” Walmart spokesperson Brian Little told Business Insider in January.
“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.”
The company closed one store in Maryland and Ohio because they were not meeting financial performance expectations.
The more than 1,000 workers affected by the layoffs were eligible to transfer to any other Walmart location, Business Insider reported.
News of the latest layoffs comes as Walmart looks to increase automation at its stores and warehouses.
In April, the retail chain said 65% of stores would be serviced by automation by the end of Walmart’s 2026 fiscal year.
“As the changes are implemented across the business, one of the outcomes is roles that require less physical labor but have a higher rate of pay,” Walmart wrote in a filing.
The retail chain hopes that an increase in efficiency will help improve inventory management and support Walmart’s e-commerce business.
“We are in a unique position to serve our customers and members however they want to shop, which will fuel continued growth,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said.
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Other Economy News Today
A whopping 3,000 retail stores will now close this year after popular clothing brands Rue21 and and Express announced their closures.
The list now grows to approximately 3,100 stores shutting down by the end of this year, per The-Sun.
And this number figure is expected to grow as more businesses announce closures throughout the remainder of the year.
Rue 21 recently announced bankruptcy and a plan to close all 540 remaining stores across the US in the next six weeks.
Express also announced plans on closing over 100 stores across the US in addition to a store closure in Central New York.
If the rising rate of retailers closing down stores continues, an estimated 8,000 locations will be closed by the end of the year.
That many closures would be 40% more than the US saw last year.
In 2023, over 4,000 retailers shut down stores, which was twice the amount of store closures from 2022, according to the National Retail Federation.
2023 also saw the closing of hundreds of Bed, Bath and Beyond stores after the major retailer filed for bankruptcy.
The retailer cited inflation as the primary reason for shutting down its in person stores, moving to an online only format.
The inflation rates from January 2023 to January 2024 increased by 3.1%, with food prices rising by 2.6%, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In response to the rising rate of inflation, many stores are raising prices or risk closing.
One Canadian supermarket, Loblaws, raised its food prices so dramatically that customers are staging a boycott for the whole month of May.
The Dollar Tree, a retailer known for everything in its stores being $1 or less, announced that it will be raising prices on certain items to as high as $7.
“This year, across 3,000 stores, we expect to expand our multi-price assortment by over 300 items at price points ranging from $1.50 to $7,” the company’s CEO, Rick Dreiling, said during an earnings call.
The last time the discount chain announced a price hike was in 2021 when prices on select items went from $1 to $1.25.
Aside from raising its prices, Dreiling also announced that over 1000 stores will most likely be closing in 2024.
Other major retailers such as Walgreens, Walmart, and JCPenney announced major closures this year.
Walmart announced store closures in California, Ohio, and Maryland–totaling to six closures so far this year.
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