Walmart to cut hundreds of store-support, training roles in latest revamp

By Jaewon Kang

 

Walmart Inc. is cutting hundreds of store-support roles, its latest move to simplify structure at the world’s largest retailer. 

The company is eliminating the market coordinator job that supports some managers, according to a memo viewed by Bloomberg News. Market coordinators are considered to be corporate positions. They assist market managers, who are responsible for supervising roughly a dozen store managers each.

 

“We’re simplifying our market support structure, reducing touchpoints and friction for our store associates,” Cedric Clark, executive vice president of store operations at Walmart US, wrote in the memo dated Wednesday. 

 

The staffing cuts represent a continued effort by Walmart to make its large workforce more efficient. The company cut corporate jobs earlier this year and asked other workers to relocate to its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, or to Sunnyvale, California. As the biggest private employer in the country, Walmart has about 1.6 million US employees.

 

Walmart is also eliminating some coach and coordinator roles at Walmart Academy, which trains store employees and managers, according to the memo. The company aims to staff the academies differently based on the needs and number of participants and plans to add some new roles. 

 

Market coordinators and academy coaches will be guaranteed store-level coach roles in the local area, according to the memo.

 

Walmart has posted strong sales growth in recent years as consumers keep prioritizing groceries and other essentials. At the same time, the retailer has warned that it will need to raise prices due to tariffs that the operating environment remains volatile.