Walmart Plans To Shut Down Three American Technology Hubs

Walmart plans to close three American technology hubs. As a result, hundreds of employees will have to relocate in order to keep their jobs. There will be a closure of the tech hubs in Austin, Texas; Carlsbad, California; and Portland, Oregon. Transfers to other primary offices in San Bruno, California, or the company's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, will be made available to employees from those locations. Walmart will offer to cover the transfers or severance money if employees decide to leave. The planned closings were confirmed in a memo.

In 2022, employees at Walmart's corporate office in Bentonville were required to work all five days of the week. The majority of Walmart's international tech staff members are required to be in their designated offices at least two days a week, according to Suresh Kumar, the retail giant's global chief technology officer. This choice fits perfectly with a general trend towards physical offices and in-person work. Similar office policies have been implemented by companies like Walt Disney Co. and Activision Blizzard Inc.

Walmart operated 11 U.S. and six overseas tech hub locations prior to the closures. The retailer reportedly intends to expand its IT team, which currently numbers about 20,000 workers worldwide, by thousands of new employees and build new tech hubs in Atlanta and Toronto. Walmart employs roughly 1.5 million people in the United States, the majority of whom work hourly in its shops and warehouses, and just over 500,000 people worldwide. In light of the challenging employment landscape for hourly workers, the company recently announced plans to increase its minimum U.S. salaries.

According to a 2020 LinkedIn post by Suresh Kumar, the decision represents a retreat from Walmart's former policy on remote labour, which had aspired to make  "virtual work the new normal for global technology,"  It seems that the group's goal at the time was to create the workplace of the future. Now, it appears as though Walmart is merely following the industry trend towards in-person work.