Walmart cuts over 2,000 jobs in e-commerce warehouses

Walmart Inc.’s job cuts include more than 1,000 positions at a warehouse in Fort Worth, Texas.

Walmart Inc.’s job cuts at five US e-commerce fulfilment centres will affect more than 2,000 positions, according to regulatory filings, though impacted employees may find other roles at the company.

Shopping trolley is seen in front of Walmart logo.(REUTERS)

The losses include more than 1,000 positions at a warehouse in Fort Worth, Texas, the state’s workforce commission said Monday. The retail giant is also anticipating a reduction of almost 600 jobs at a Pennsylvania fulfilment centre, 400 in Florida and about 200 in New Jersey. An additional reduction is planned in California.

The regulatory filings add precision to the staffing cuts at the Walmart warehouses, which the company confirmed last month without quantifying.

Walmart is also growing in some areas as it adjusts its stores and fulfilment centres to handle more online orders, a spokesman said in an email. That may allow the company to reshuffle some workers to other jobs rather than cut them.

As a result, the net impact on total employment at Walmart, the largest private-sector employer in the US, remains uncertain. The company has avoided the kind of mass layoffs underway at rival Amazon.com Inc., which said last month it would eliminate a further 9,000 jobs in addition to 18,000 recent cuts.