Walmart Laying Off More Than 1,200 Workers Even As Digital Shopping Booms

Walmart is reportedly laying off an additional 1,200 workers as part of a reorganization that encompasses the big consumer shift to online shopping.

In July, Walmart cut its workforce by laying off hundreds in its logistics, real estate and retail location-planning divisions.

“We are continuing on our journey to create an omnichannel organization within our Walmart U.S. business,” Jami Lamontagne, a spokesperson for Walmart, said in a statement to PYMNTS at the time. “Our customers want to have a seamless experience whether they’re shopping in our stores, using our app or shopping online.”

The retailer confirmed the new round of layoffs to Footwear News on Wednesday (Dec. 2), adding it was part of a restructuring. The trade publication said that U.S. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications filed in Arkansas and New Jersey showed that 1,241 positions at Walmart would be cut. Walmart is based in Bentonville, Ark., while its Jet.com eCommerce subsidiary is headquartered in Hoboken, N.J.

Walmart told the news outlet the job cuts were part of a shift to omnichannel operations. “As a part of taking those difficult steps, some office associates are affected if they are unable to find a different role with the company,” spokesperson Anne Hatfield said, according to the report.

Nonetheless, sales at Walmart during the pandemic have been going gangbusters. Partly that’s due to a huge surge in shoppers flocking to eCommerce.

Also, Walmart was not hit with the store shutdowns that impacted other retailers. Typically seen as an essential service, it also benefited from changing consumer spending that boosted sales in household goods as fear spread and millions began working from home.

The company announced in September that it would be hiring for 20,000 seasonal positions. Walmart added: “These seasonal positions in Walmart’s eCommerce fulfillment centers follow the company’s hiring of more than 500,000 new associates since March across its stores and supply chain locations to ensure the retailer could provide essential items to customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.”