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Walmart – the nation’s largest private employer – is cutting more than 1,000 corporate jobs as the company tries to lower its expenses and streamline decision-making as pressure from tariffs mounts.
Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner and Walmart Global Chief Technology Officer Suresh Kumar said in a memo to employees on Wednesday that the company is reshaping some teams in its global tech and Walmart U.S. organizations where it has found “opportunities to remove layers and complexity, speed up decision-making, and help associates innovate rapidly.”
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“The world of technology is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and reshaping our structure allows us to accelerate how we deliver and adapt to the changing environment around us,” the executives wrote in the memo.
Walmart is the nation’s largest private employer. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)
In the U.S., the cuts are specifically “mainly focused on driving efficiency” within the company’s end-to-end operations teams and evolving the structure of its Walmart Connect marketing organization for long-term viability.
However, Walmart said that while the company is eliminating some roles, it is also “opening some new roles aligned with our business priorities and growth strategy.”
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This comes as executives across the retail industry, including at Walmart, have been warning about the impact of tariffs on the sector, even meeting with President Donald Trump earlier this year.
The retailer, which economists use as a gauge to understand consumer health, reported strong first-quarter earnings, but warned that price hikes were imminent given the magnitude of the levies placed on imported goods.
The retailer, which economists use as a gauge to understand consumer health, reported strong first-quarter earnings, but warned that price hikes were imminent given the magnitude of the levies placed on imported goods. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Even though Trump earlier this month reduced the duties placed on Chinese imports, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said the company can’t “absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins.”
The comment sparked backlash from Trump, who posted on Truth Social that the retailer should “EAT THE TARIFFS.”
Ticker Security Last Change Change % WMT WALMART INC. 96.43 -1.37
-1.40%
Later, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Walmart agreed to absorb some of the tariffs while some costs will get passed on to consumers.
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Nearly two-thirds of Walmart’s U.S. spending goes toward products made, assembled or grown domestically, but the remaining third comes from around the world, with China and Mexico being the largest contributors.
