The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
ARKANSAS, United States — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is trimming the workforce at its headquarters again, part of the retailer's campaign to reduce expenses, according to a person familiar with the matter.
A few dozen employees are affected and were having discussions with human-resources officials on Thursday, said the person, who requested anonymity because the cuts haven’t been made public. Those affected can apply for jobs elsewhere in the company, the person said.
Wal-Mart has been looking to slim down its operations as it boosts wages for employees and ramps up e-commerce spending to compete with Amazon.com Inc. Hundreds of positions were eliminated earlier this year. At a March investor conference, chief financial officer Brett Biggs said the company had “work to do” to lower costs and that “we need to be a little tougher on ourselves around expenses.”
“We’re continuing to look at how the company is structured, which includes investing in and adding jobs in some areas and eliminating some in a few others,” a company spokesman said by e-mail. A few dozen employees were promoted Thursday to merchandising specialists, he said.
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Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, is the nation’s largest private employer, with about 1.5 million workers in the US.
By Matthew Boyle; editors: Caroline Salas Gage, Lisa Wolfson and Jonathan Roeder.
From analysis of the global fashion and beauty industries to career and personal advice, BoF’s founder and CEO, Imran Amed, will be answering your questions on Sunday, February 18, 2024 during London Fashion Week.
The State of Fashion 2024 breaks down the 10 themes that will define the industry in the year ahead.
Imran Amed reviews the most important fashion stories of the year and shares his predictions on what this means for the industry in 2024.
After three days of inspiring talks, guests closed out BoF’s gathering for big thinkers with a black tie gala followed by an intimate performance from Rita Ora — guest starring Billy Porter.