Report: Walmart laying off hundreds of fulfillment center workers
Walmart is reportedly adjusting its headcount in its e-commerce supply chain operation.
According to Reuters, the discount giant is laying off 200 employees at an e-commerce fulfillment center in Pedricktown, N.J.; as well as “hundreds” of workers at e-commerce hubs located in Fort Worth; Texas, Chino, Calif.; Davenport, Fla.; and Bethlehem, Pa.
Walmart, the nation's largest private employer, said a scaling back in evening and weekend shifts at the facilities led to the elimination of jobs. The company said affected employees will be paid for 90 days and may be able to find jobs at other Walmart fulfillment centers in the U.S., as well as at its 5,000 U.S. stores.
"We recently adjusted staffing levels to better prepare for the future needs of customers," Walmart said in a statement to Reuters.
Walmart also recently said an internal company memo that it is reducing costs by shutting down three U.S. technology centers, although affected employees will have the option to relocate to take jobs at other tech hubs it operates.
Read more from Reuters here.
Walmart unveils next-gen fulfillment center model
Walmart is enacting these layoffs several months after debuting a proprietary supply chain automation system in its new high-tech fulfillment center located in Joliet, Ill. Described as the "first-of-its-kind" for Walmart, the 1.1 million-sq.-ft, high-tech facility is the first of four state-of-the-art fulfillment centers dedicated to e-commerce that Walmart plans to open during the next three years. It will store millions of items available on Walmart.com, that are then picked, packed and shipped directly to customers.
The new center will also fulfill third-party Walmart Marketplace items shipped by Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), the company's end-to-end fulfillment service for third-party e-commerce sellers.
First announced in June 2022, Walmart's new next-gen centers will feature an automated, high-density storage system that, among other benefits, will allow the retail giant to double the number of customer orders it can fulfill in a day.
[Read more: Walmart unveils next-gen fulfillment center model]
Once completed, the four next-gen centers for Walmart could provide 75% of the U.S. population with next- or two-day shipping. The other three locations are McCordsville, Ind.; Lancaster, Texas; and Greencastle, Pa. The four facilities will collectively employ more than 4,000 associates, and Walmart indicated some employees impacted by its current fulfillment center layoffs could be hired at the Joliet facility.