Kamal Ghorui
Walmart, America’s largest private employer has announced its plans to layoff or relocate around 1,000 corporate employees as part of a restructuring effort in oder to combine its global technology and product teams. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, in a memo to staff, Walmart executive Daniel Danker, head of global AI acceleration, and Suresh Kumar head of global technology said that this move of the retail giant is aimed at improving efficiency. “In some cases, we’ve had different teams working on similar problems,” they wrote, noting that affected employees could apply for other open roles within the company.The company has asked many of the impacted employees to relocate to Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, or its Northern California offices. The company has previously consolidated staff into major hubs, including earlier layoffs at its Hoboken, New Jersey office.
Walmart’s AI and tech investments
As per the report, Walmart has been heavily investing in AI and automation, hiring Danker last summer to accelerate its global AI strategy. While rivals like Meta and Amazon have cut jobs citing AI-driven restructuring, Walmart said its changes are about organisational alignment rather than handing over more tasks to artificial intelligence.The retailer has been on a sales-growth streak, expanding profits beyond retail through advertising and cost reductions. Recently, Walmart combined its global technology platforms across Sam’s Club, Walmart U.S., and its international business. CEO John Furner said the integration would allow growth “at a much lower marginal cost than what it has historically.”
Tech hiring slowdown comes to Walmart
Last month it was reported that tech hiring slowdown that has impacted Silicon Valley hirings of foreign workers has now reached the corridors of the world’s largest retailer. According to a report, Walmart submitted just 312 certified H-1B visa applications in the final three months of 2025, which is a reduction of more than half compared to roughly 860 applications in the same period a year earlier, and approximately 40% below its level from two years ago.Citing the latest data from the US Department of Labor, Business Insider reported that this is due to the changes to the work visa programme, which began rolling out in September. Walmart’s competitors like Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s each saw relatively consistent H-1B numbers over the same two-year window.
