Why is Walmart laying off 200 workers?

America’s biggest employer, Walmart, will be cutting 200 corporate workers across various departments at its Bentonville, Arkansas and other corporate offices, the Wall Street Journal reported. Retail workers remain unaffected for now.

The cuts will be across departments including the merchandising, global technology and real-estate teams. A Walmart spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that the company was restructuring and that it was investing in other areas while creating new roles.

The cuts come after the company’s announcement that the the profits for the current quarter as well as the fiscal year would see a decline. Walmart’s earnings call is on August 16.

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Walmart says that as inflation increases food prices and fuel, US shoppers were pulling back on other categories of purchase. Products that had become popular during the pandemic are not disappearing off the shelves and Walmart, like other retailers, has been caught by surprise. 

In June, Target had reported that its earnings were unlikely to hit targets as they too had rising inventory levels. Just like Walmart last week, Best Buy cut sales and profit goals announcing that consumers weren’t buying electronics like they were during the pandemic. 

Walmart is the US’s largest employer and currently employs 1.7 million workers. While the bulk of the workforce works in retail, there are thousands of corporate employees. Across the world, Walmart employs a total of 2.3 million people.

Also Read: US economy sending mixed signals: Here’s what it all means

While the number of open jobs have surged to record levels since 2021, hiring has not kept at pace, with many positions remaining open. Fears of an incoming recession has caused companies to go into lockdown mode. Silicon Valley has slashed hiring targets, with companies like Meta, Microsoft and Tesla putting hiring on hold, instead opting to remove employees in the coming months. Even a company like Ford is prepping to remove thousands of white-collar workers in an attempt to eliminate $3 billion in annual costs by 2026.