Walmart Announces Layoffs Ahead Of The Holidays—Here’s What Employees Need To Know

According to a new report, Walmart plans to cut more than 1,000 jobs at an Atlanta, GA facility. This location, as reported by Reuters, tends to online orders placed on the Walmart website. In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) that was filed last week, the department store giant revealed that it would lay off 1,458 workers at the e-commerce fulfillment center located in Fulton Parkway in the Georgia capital.

In addition, Reuters noted that the nation’s largest retailer confirmed to the publication that it would be cutting its workforce at this particular facility, and that employees were notified about this in late August. Scott Pope, a spokesperson for Walmart, said, “We’re converting the fulfillment center on Fulton Parkway to support our growing WFS (Walmart Fulfillment Services) business.”

He added, “As part of the conversion, the facility’s infrastructure, operational resources, processes, staffing requirements and equipment are being adjusted to meet the building’s needs.”

A WARN notice, Reuters explains, is “mandated by U.S. labor law and requires companies with 100 or more employees to provide 60 days’ advance notification of plant closings and mass layoffs.”

In place of the 1,000+ employees that Walmart will be laying off, the company announced that it will be acquiring Alert Innovation, a robotics and automation firm. This, they believe, will help speed up deliveries and cut the amount of steps taken by workers in processing orders.

This Atlanta facility’s conversion is part of the popular retailer’s plan to modernize and build warehouses with a high-tech focus, Pope said, to support its online business that is rapidly growing. Pope added that “affected workers are being assisted with paid job searches and that some employees have been hired back at other Walmart stores and supply chain facilities,” Reuters notes.

With the winter holiday season approaching, this news comes after the Walmart announced its plans to hire 40,000 new seasonal workers (most of them being in-store associates) to prepare. According to its website, Walmart currently employs more than 70,000 associates in the state of Georgia.