Walmart is tightening its belt in the Bay Area, with nearly 600 corporate employees facing the ax. According to documentation filed with California's Employment Development Department, the colossal retailer plans to dismantle 568 positions across its eCommerce office in San Bruno and Walmart Labs in Sunnyvale. The move further indicates the retail giant's reorganization amidst industry-wide cost-cutting trends.
The biggest blow will come to the San Bruno location, where 388 jobs are slated for termination. Sunnyvale's corporate office is bracing for an impact of 180 job cuts, as reported by The Mercury News. Despite these reductions, the company has offered some employees chances to relocate to their home base in Arkansas or other offices to stem the tide of total job losses. Those not opting to move will find their positions officially ended on one of multiple staggered dates stretching from August 9, 2024, to January 31, 2025.
This announcement comes hot on the heels of Walmart agreeing to sublease a huge tech campus in Sunnyvale. The previous tenant, Facebook app owner Meta Platforms, vacated amidst its cull of staff and space, opening the door for potentially 2,800 to 3,600 Walmart tech employees to take up residence. Nevertheless, it isn't clear when the company plans to relocate workers to this new office complex.
In a memo that surfaced in the San Francisco Chronicle, Donna Morris, an executive at Walmart, hinted at the larger context of the job cuts. "While the overall numbers are small in percentage, we are focused on supporting each of our associates affected by these changes," Morris stated in the memo. The impetus behind the layoffs was not detailed by Morris, but the trend echoes through the tech sector as companies grapple with an uncertain economic outlook. This news coincides with another local development; a Walmart location in Fremont is also closing soon, impacting 169 workers, SFGATE reports.
The laid-off employees stem from a mix of departments and employment statuses, with many remote workers among those most affected. The consolation Walmart offers in its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letters is the opportunity for these individuals to continue their association with Walmart, albeit potentially miles away from their current Bay Area posts.
