Walmart also anticipates slower sales growth and lower profits in the next fiscal year.
Walmart joins the wave of cutbacks among tech giants. The company has announced the layoff of hundreds of U.S. workers at five ecommerce facilities, Reuters news agency has reported. Specifically, the company will lay off about 200 workers at the Pedricktown (New Jersey) facility, and hundreds more in Fort Worth (Texas); Chino (California); Davenport (Florida); and Bethlehem (Pennsylvania).
“We have adjusted staffing levels to better prepare for future customer needs,” a Walmart spokesperson told Reuters, assuring that they will “work closely with those affected.” At this point, the spokesperson explained that they will pay the affected workers for 90 days to find work at other company facilities, including those in Joliet (Illinois) and Lancaster (Texas), where Walmart has opened new ecommerce distribution centers. According to Walmart, “this workforce reduction is due to the elimination of night and weekend shifts.”
Meanwhile, the company anticipates slower sales growth and lower earnings in the coming fiscal year. The company noted last February that it expects same-store sales for its U.S. business to grow between 2 and 2.5%, excluding fuel, compared with 6.6% growth in the previous fiscal year.
Walmart expects adjusted earnings per share to range between $5.90 and $6.05, excluding fuel, for the fiscal year. Online sales have continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace than during the peak of the pandemic. In its most recent fiscal year, which ended Jan. 31, they posted a 12% increase, compared with growth of 11% in fiscal 2022 and 79% in fiscal 2021.