As many other large companies, walmart asks its employees to come to the office more often. In an internal memo seen by the the wall street journalWalmart chief technology officer Suresh Kumar said the retail giant’s tech workers will be asked to work in person at least two days a week.
But there is an additional catch. Kumar too announcement that Walmart would close its offices in Austin; Carlsbad, California and Portland, Oregon. Affected workers should either move closer to one of Walmart’s remaining main offices, such as its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., or leave the company.
The memo would have said the company would pay severance pay to those who choose to leave rather than relocate, and that it would cover the costs of those who decide to relocate. The company has also not set a timetable for the relocation, reports Reuters.
Walmart did not immediately respond to Fortunerequest for comment, although the company told the the wall street journal that certain relocated employees will be allowed to become full-time teleworkers.
Workers who decide to move to Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville could be in for a nasty surprise. The company has required most employees at its headquarters to work in person five days a week since last year, according to the the wall street journal.
Last year, Walmart announcement that it would hire 5,000 more tech workers and open offices in Atlanta and Toronto. After the recently announced closures, the company will have 14 remaining technology hubs, primarily in the United States, but also in Mexico, Costa Rica and India.
office trend
Many large companies are beginning to require workers to come into the office for at least part of the week. last November, Snap announcement that he would ask his employees to come to the office at least 80% of the time, starting in February. In January, the two Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz And disney CEO Bob Iger asked employees to come into the office for most of the week.
walmart cut around 200 business workers last October after warning that consumers were cutting spending due to inflation. But the company also faces a tight labor market for hourly workers, and it has raised its minimum hourly wage from $12 to $14 earlier this year.
Walmart reported $158 billion in quarterly revenue in November 2022, a 3.9% year-over-year increase. At the time, the company warned of a slowdown in spending due to “persistent inflationary pressures in food and consumables. The company is expected to release its results for the current quarter and the full year on February 21.
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