BENTONVILLE, AR - Walmart is streamlining its technology division in the United States, eliminating roughly 300 jobs in the company’s Information Systems Division (ISD) in an effort to maximize efficiencies and cut costs.
Insiders told news source Talk Business & Politics (TBP) that the retailer is planning to lay off ten percent of its ISD workforce in the next few days—beginning in Bentonville this week and continuing throughout the month.
“As we said in January, to fuel our growth and our investments we have to manage our costs and our capital decisions with discipline,” Randy Hargrove, Walmart’s Senior Director, National Media Relations, told TBP. “This means we will continue to find ways to operate more efficiently and effectively, true to our cost-conscious heritage…In some areas, we’ll invest in new positions but in other cases, we’ll operate more efficiently and work to change our processes and become more digital to change the work itself.”
These job cuts are part of an ongoing effort to restructure the division. In January, Walmart U.S.’s E-commerce CEO Marc Lore announced a restructuring plan that would impact 200 Information Systems jobs.
“To deliver the changes we ultimately want customers to see on the outside, we have to change on the inside," said Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, earlier this year, in reference to streamlining jobs. "We need more speed and less bureaucracy. We need lower costs.”
While streamlining corporate costs, the company has doubled down on its retail presence, adding distribution centers, stores in new markets, and thousands of employees to its retail operations.
These cuts also come on the heels of a concerted effort to prioritize e-commerce. The company has made waves over the past year, acquiring several online banners and increasing operational efficiencies throughout its online operations.
AndNowUKnow will continue to report on the retailer’s efforts to streamline.
