Days after extending a request for corporate employees to relocate to either Arkansas or California, Walmart is cutting hundreds of positions at its offices in New Jersey.

According to a filing with the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the retail giant expects to eliminate 481 roles currently based in Hoboken. The cuts go into effect June 13.

The WARN filing comes less than a week after the company confirmed it is asking workers at some of its smaller corporate sites across the U.S. to move to Walmart’s recently opened headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., or its office in Sunnyvale, Calif.

“The 481 number referenced in the WARN notice indicates all associates affected by last week’s changes, including those who have been offered relocation and the option [to] remain with the company,” a Walmart spokesperson told NJBIZ.

It was not clear how many employees accepted that offer.

Walmart will also close its Charlotte, N.C., office. That move will result in 267 layoffs, a local NBC News affiliate reported.

The push comes as part of a larger relocation strategy. Beginning in May 2024, Walmart asked most of its corporate staffers in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto to move to either Bentonville, San Francisco or Hoboken. At the time, the company said the change aimed to boost “collaboration, innovation and speed.”

Walmart is the nation’s largest private employer. While the company has not said how many employees could be impacted, hundreds of jobs are expected to be eliminated, Bloomberg reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

According to Reuters, employees have 30 days to inform Walmart if they plan to move and will receive relocation support from the company. If workers decide to stay put, they’ll be given some type of severance package and wind down their time with Walmart by mid-year.

Making space

Several other large corporations – including Amazon and Microsoft – are also mandating employees return to the office on a full-time basis. When Walmart shifted workers last year to California, Arkansas and Hoboken, they were told they could work remotely sometimes – as long as they are in offices most of the week.

In a Feb. 4 memo to U.S. office-based associates, Walmart Chief People Office Donna Morris wrote, “Our values and culture are strategic differentiators for us as a company, and they are fostered by being together. We’ve already seen the benefits of having more teams working together in person, and today we are sharing another step that will help accelerate our momentum.” She went on to say the latest changes focus on putting “key capabilities together, encouraging speed and shared understanding.”

Walmart recently unveiled a new corporate headquarters in Arkansas, just a few miles from its previous location. According to the chain, the 350-acre campus can accommodate more than 12,000 workers across 12 buildings. The company will complete move ins by fiscal year 2026.

Additionally, Walmart will launch new office spaces later this year in Sunnyvale as well as Bellevue, Wash. The company also expects to expand and upgrade its fashion office in New York City and site in Hoboken.

According to the company, the scope of work at Hoboken Waterfront Center includes adding two floors at its current address at 221 River St. as well as a new floor at 121 River St. More details will be provided in coming months, Walmart said.

It remains unclear how many employees work in Walmart’s Hoboken office, though a spokesperson has told NJBIZ “thousands” of workers are based there.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 6:48 p.m. ET Feb. 11, 2025, to clarify that Walmart will eliminate 481 positions in Hoboken but that those employees have been given the option to relocate and remain with the company.