Walmart has laid off 1,000 workers as the retailer simplifies its operating structure, according to a Reuters report citing people familiar with the matter. Under new CEO John Furner and a reshaped leadership team, the retailer is doubling down on a tech-focused strategy as it tries to lure shoppers with higher income, and builds its marketplace and delivery businesses.
“We’ve made changes to simplify how the work is organized, make ownership clearer, and better align roles to the work and skills we need going forward,” said Walmart’s head of global technology Suresh Kumar and head of global AI acceleration Daniel Danker in a memo to employees on Tuesday.
The memo also says that this includes “updating some roles to better match the work being done, bringing teams together where it makes sense, and aligning some roles to key locations where related work is already happening.”
READ: US layoffs in first 10 days of May 2026: Nearly 38,000 jobs cut (May 10, 2026)
“Some work has been consolidated, and some roles have been eliminated,” the memo said the company was helping those affected “explore other opportunities within Walmart where possible.”
The company is giving some workers the option to keep their jobs, provided they relocate. The WSJ says the relocation options include the company’s offices in Bentonville, Arkansas, and Northern California.
Unlike with other recent layoffs, AI has not been cited as a reason for the cuts. Kumar and Danker did not even touch on the topic of artificial intelligence in their memo, and the Wall Street Journal cited a Walmart spokesperson as saying the job cuts are related to operational restructuring rather than AI taking over duties that human workers once performed.
READ: Air India to delay salary hikes, CEO assures no layoffs (May 9, 2026)
Walmart employs about 2.1 million people worldwide, as of January 31, according to its annual filing. It is the largest U.S. private employer with about 1.6 million employees, of whom 92% are hourly workers.
Walmart’s share price closed up around 2% yesterday, which is within the normal range that most stocks move in any given day. This is notable since job cuts often come with a boost in stock prices, as job cuts are the fastest way to reduce overhead costs and thus boost the bottom line. In premarket trading this morning, the company’s stock price (NYSE: WMT) is currently down less than 1%.
Walmart is the latest among the many companies that laid off its workers this month. General Motors had also laid off around 600 employees a day earlier. Prior to that, GitLab announced layoffs, amid AI overhaul.