Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Lays Off More Employees At Headquarters

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Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Lays Off More Employees At Headquarters

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has terminated more than 100 jobs at its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas this week.

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The company had previously slashed 450 jobs from headquarters last year in October. Reports indicate that the layoffs are not part of jobs cuts caused by the closure of around 100 Walmart Express stores. The company employs roughly 18,600 employees in North West Arkansas and roughly 1.3 million in the United States.

One of the retail company’s representatives stated that the layoffs affected less than 3% of the company’s tech staff at HQ. This follows the recent joining of its Silicon Valley team with its tech. Walmart spokesman Lorenzo Lopez stated that the firm does not take decisions involving its workers for granted. He also revealed that the firm regularly evaluates any skills, experience and positions that Walmart requires and that often entail scrapping some of its positions and creating new ones.

The layoffs this week will mostly affect Asian immigrants who live in northwest Arkansas. Most of them were attracted to the area by the increasing number of software and technology jobs. Critics believe that the job cuts are collateral damage arising from Walmart’s restructuring efforts. The company is reportedly spending billions to improve its stores across the country as well as encouraging more sales from its e-commerce division.

Some of the company’s recent efforts include clearing aisles, better stocking and even raising wages. Last week the firm disappointed investors when it reported lower than expected sales in the fourth quarter. The company also lowered its estimates for the whole year. Investors had expected the company to show better results. The firm’s online sales went up by 8% during the holidays. Walmart has been focusing more of its resources and efforts into e-commerce to try and attract a wider market like its retail rivals Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA).