Walmart To Close Three Tech Hubs, Urges Employees To Return To Offices

(RTTNews) - Walmart Inc. plans to close three of its 11 U.S. technology hubs, asking employees to relocate to other locations, the Wall Street Journal reported citing an internal memo.

The retail major would also require nearly all technology employees to return to their offices for at least two days a week, while some roles may be converted into remote positions.

The company is closing technology offices in Austin, Texas; in Carlsbad, California; and in Portland, Oregon. The operations at these places would move to hubs including San Bruno, California or the company's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Walmart's hundreds of tech employees in these affected offices are asked to relocate to keep their jobs.

Robert Munroe, Walmart's director of global communications, reportedly said the company would pay transfer costs to relocate employees and severance payments to those who plans to leave the company.

The company currently has 11 technology offices in the U.S. and six abroad.

Reports quoted Walmart representative as saying, "We've made the decision to focus our tech team's presence within select locations. We hope to relocate or allow for remote work for all affected associates."

Walmart's global technology head, Suresh Kumar, had announced last year the company's plans to add new tech centers in Atlanta and Toronto and hire 5,000 staffers to work on cybersecurity, software engineering, data science and other areas.

Walmart's majority of tech employees have been working remotely since the start of Covid pandemic. Meanwhile, many workers in Walmart's Bentonville corporate headquarters were asked to work in office five days a week since last year.