The basics:

• Walmart to cut 187 Hoboken corporate jobs in August
• Part of broader US restructuring targeting 1,500 roles
• Affects tech, e-commerce & advertising divisions
• Follows relocation push to Bentonville, Ark., and Sunnyvale, Calif.

Another wave of layoffs is hitting Walmart’s offices in Hoboken.

In a filing with the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development, the retail giant said it expects to eliminate 187 positions effective Aug. 22.

The notice comes as the Bentonville, Ark.-based company reportedly plans to lay off 1,500 corporate employees in the U.S. as part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at streamlining operations.

In the May 21 memo to employees, Walmart U.S. CEO and President John Furner and Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer Suresh Kumar wrote that the chain is making changes as a way to “remove layers and complexity, speed up decision-making and help associates innovate rapidly.”

According to the executives, the cuts will impact teams across Walmart’s global technology operations, e-commerce fulfillment at U.S. stores and its advertising unit.

“Reshaping our structure allows us to accelerate how we deliver and adapt to the changing environment around us,” they said, adding that the company will also be “opening some new roles aligned with our business priorities and growth strategy.”

Furner and Kumar also pledged to work “closely with affected associates on their next steps, including other opportunities within Walmart where applicable.”

The downsizing comes less than four months after Walmart asked workers at some smaller corporate sites across the U.S. to relocate to its headquarters in Bentonville or its offices in Sunnyvale, Calif. At the time, Walmart said changes were driven by a desire to consolidate its workforce and streamline operations.

Relocation and realignment

In Hoboken, the 481 positions listed in the state’s WARN notice in February reflected “those who have been offered relocation and the option [to] remain with the company,” a spokesperson told NJBIZ at the time. The cuts go into effect June 13.

It is unclear how many of those employees will move to either Arkansas or California.

A media representative from Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for more details regarding the impact in Hoboken.

The push is part of a larger relocation strategy that Walmart began last year. In May 2024, Walmart relocated most of its corporate staffers in Dallas, Atlanta, and Toronto to either Bentonville, San Francisco, or Hoboken as a way to boost “collaboration, innovation and speed.”

As the largest private employer in the U.S., Walmart has about 1.6 million workers. Globally, it has 2.1 million employees, according to its website. Additionally, Walmart is the largest retailer in the world based on revenue. In 2024, the company pulled in $681 billion.

Last week, Walmart warned that it would raise prices on certain products by June as President Donald Trump’s trade war continues to strain its supply chain and push up costs. According to Reuters, the company imports about 60% of the company’s inventory – namely clothing, electronics and toys – from China.

In response, Trump criticized Walmart in a social media post, urging the company to “eat the tariffs.”

A Walmart spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that the latest round of layoffs relate to the company’s “business priorities” and “growth strategy” and were not a result of tariffs.