Walmart cuts 450 jobs

The importance of expense control at Walmart became evident on Friday when the retailer confirmed it planned to eliminate 450 positions as part of a broader restructuring effort.

The long-rumored cuts were detailed in an internal memo with the subject line “a company positioned for the future,” that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., President and CEO Doug McMillon distributed to the company’s home office employees on Friday, Oct. 2. Approximately 18,000 employees work at Walmart’s complex of buildings in Bentonville and neighboring Rogers, Ark., so the elimination of 450 positions represents a 2.5% reduction in force.

McMillon said the decision “impacts people we care about,” but noted that the structure changes that will make the company a more nimble organization that serves customers better.

“Our customers are changing, retail is changing and we must change. We need to become a more agile company that can easily adapt to shifting customer demand. After months of evaluation, we’ve concluded there is an opportunity to better position our home office teams to move with speed and purpose,” according to McMillon. “This is an important time in our history – requiring all of us to think critically about our business and not be afraid to challenge the status quo. For the company, this in part means pulling back in some areas and investing in others.”

Additional details on areas of investment and reduction were not immediately available.

While the elimination of 450 positions is sizable, Walmart took more extreme measures in early 2009 at the beginning of the Great Recession when it eliminated 800 positions. The company also eliminated 300 positions in 2010.