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Four years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Walmart is asking the majority of its remote associates to relocate to its corporate headquarters.
“With the goal of bringing more of us together more often, we are asking the majority of associates working remotely, and the majority of associates within our offices in Dallas, Atlanta, and our Toronto Global Tech office, to relocate,” Donna Morris, chief people officer at Walmart, told associates in a memo last week.
The majority of the relocations will be to Walmart’s Home Office in Bentonville, Arkansas, but some will go to offices in the San Francisco Bay Area or New York and Hoboken, New Jersey.
The retailer is also shedding a number of corporate positions during this process.
“In addition, some parts of our business have made changes that will result in a reduction of several hundred campus roles,” Morris wrote. “While the overall numbers are small in percentage, we are focused on supporting each of our associates affected by these changes.”
The relocations mark the continuation of a slow return to office for the company. In 2022, Walmart decided to bring Home Office associates back into the office, but allowed many associates located around the country to continue working remotely.
“We believe that being together, in person, makes us better and helps us to collaborate, innovate and move even faster,” Morris wrote. “We also believe it helps strengthen our culture as well as grow and develop our associates.”
She added that Walmart has had discussion with those impacted and will be working closely with them in the coming months to “navigate the best path forward.”