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Walmart’s Zoom call in May was anything but routine for the roughly 300 employees who learned they would need to relocate or lose their jobs.
Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation that were on the call but not allowed to speak during it, said they were told during the meeting that Walmart would start requiring thousands of workers from its smaller offices and remote locations to move to one of its main office hubs to boost in-person presence.
Concerns varied between employees, according to the report. Some were fine with the mandate, while others shared concerns about job security for their partners, childcare, and keeping remote work options, the publication added. Meanwhile, there was also uneasiness about workloads and whether they would grow if workers decided to quit in lieu of moving.
Others were unsettled by the limited resources available to LGBTQ individuals in states such as Arkansas, where Walmart is headquartered. Walmart plans to open its swanky new HQ office next year. The 350-acre campus will be filled with various amenities like a fitness facility, a Little Squiggles childcare facility, and even a hotel.
In May, the company said that it planned to slash thousands of corporate positions in Texas and California, while mandating that remote workers relocate to one of three of its central hubs in either Arkansas, New Jersey or Northern California.
Walmart said at the time that it would give some employees permission to work remotely, but only on a part-time basis.
During that time, Walmart’s chief people officer Donna Morris sent employees a memo in which she said that the company believed that being together and in-person would make its workforce better, help it collaborate and innovate, and improve company culture.
Nonetheless, Walmart plans to begin layoffs for those that have not relocated on Aug. 9.