Walmart to shutter North Carolina office: reportsWalmart to shutter North Carolina office: reports

Walmart is eliminating some corporate positions and closing a regional office in Charlotte, N.C., according to reports. The closure comes as the company has begun opening a sprawling new headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., and follows the reports of other regional office closures and staff reductions last year.

The retailer could not be reached for comment on the recent reports.

Building off a relocations push from last year

According to Reuters, Walmart is asking some employees to relocate from smaller regional offices to its new headquarters in Bentonville and to its offices in Sunnyvale, Calif. It is also seeking to relocate some employees from its Hoboken, N.J., offices. Last year, reports indicated that the company was relocating some employees to the Sunnyvale and Hoboken facilities from other smaller, regional outposts, such as the ones in Dallas, Atlanta, and Toronto.

Last year, Walmart also initiated a policy requiring many employees who worked remotely to begin spending most of their time in the office, the reports said.

The company’s new headquarters includes 12 buildings on 350 acres of property and what the company described as a sustainable design that includes walking and biking trails and 13 acres of lakes. The new campus has officially opened this year, beginning with a merchandising team that relocated there in January, according to information on Walmart’s website.

It was not immediately known how many positions were being eliminated and how many employees were relocating as a part of the Charlotte office closure. As of Monday, Walmart had not filed a layoff notice with the state, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

In their own words: “Encouraging speed”
“We are making these changes to put key capabilities together, encouraging speed and shared understanding. Through this review process, we have eliminated some roles as we streamline how we work and will also be exiting our office in Charlotte, North Carolina.” —Donna Morris, chief people officer, Walmart, in a memo seen by Reuters