Walmart Is Cutting Up To 500 Corporate Jobs This Week

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is cutting 400 to 500 jobs at headquarters this week, the latest effort to streamline a retail empire under threat from Amazon.com Inc. The layoffs will hit the company’s marketing, human resources, merchandising, real estate, logistics and finance divisions, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based chain said. The company is informing most of those affected on Thursday, and they will have 60 days to find a new role. The cuts extend a busy month for the world’s largest retailer, which also shut 63 Sam’s Club warehouses and reorganized that unit’s purchasing division. But even as it makes cuts, the company has taken steps to retain employees — like boosting its hourly wage and creating new roles focused on its online grocery business. Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon is betting that a leaner organization can better battle Amazon, and has said Wal-Mart “is not where we want to be” in terms of reducing corporate expenses. Read more at Fortune.