Thread regarding Walmart layoffs

They may only take 15 minutes to lay off someone but they schedule them for 30 minutes.

It's a real pity when revenue areas of the business are impacted. Would hope the business leaves those areas alone! Keep hearing that no area is safe, but does anyone know if they are looking to reduce areas that are cost centers to the organization? In other words, administrative departments, such as HR, Benefits, Compensation, Payroll, Accounting, Legal? Seems we don't hear about those areas getting hit.

Well the rumors have been circulating that no area is safe. Not even the buyers. So I’m not shocked that merchandising VPs were called offsite for meetings.

Whoever said they’ve never heard of an AES score of 30%, ours was 27%. And not one person on our team agreed that they would recommend Walmart to a friend.

Everyone will still get their bonus, and likely their stock (assuming it’s vesting) since they’ll still have 60 days on the payroll.

The only concern for WMT from a timing perspective is that they get it done before the end of the fiscal year. That way they don't have to pay bonus and vested stock. It will probably all happen next week. VPs in my area of merchandising were in an off-site meeting all day yesterday and none of their direct reports were aware of it. It made my buyers worried when they found out at the end of the day.

Amen @2fms and 2ihq! Best comments ever!! I came to Walmart from the outside, in a previous life I was a vendor to big companies like GE, Lockheed, Boeing and many others. I had great relationships with my clients, many are actual friends now. I worked alongside some of the best and the brightest, we won together for our respective companies.

As a former Walmart person I can attest, there are some Walmart people who are going to have a REALLY tough time getting another job, especially with a vendor for all the reasons you mentioned. Many of these Walmart people have never worked anywhere else, they are used to being the 800 lb gorilla and getting treated as such. I have seen such arrogance among them, it was embarrassing to be part of Walmart. Arrogance from Walmart people who couldn't do 3rd grade math (seriously, could not do multiplication), and had no more than a GED or high school education. They barked orders toward vendors like the vendor was dirt. Many of these vendors were incredibly bright people, some attended the best graduate business schools in the US, ALL of them had a minimum of a bachelor's degree.

For any of those people who are about to be laid off, remember how badly you treated the vendors. Remember all the fawning you enjoyed from the vendor was only because you represented a Walmart book of business that was bigger than any other account their company has; it had zero to do with you as a person. In fact, vendors will keep a straight face in a meeting with you, smile and nod, and once they are back in the safety of their car will let it rip about how stupid they think you are. I'm right there with them on that. At Walmart HO, I worked with some of the worst coworkers and leadership I've ever experienced in business. Embarrassing people who had absolutely no grasp on technology, data, you name it. People stuck in 1992 with no background or education who needed to be knocked off their high horse. I wouldn't recommend those people for a job now if they were the last people on the planet.

For the sake of Walmart, I hope they get rid of every single person like the type I described. The entitlement mentality and mediocrity with that group is over the top. They make Walmart a hostile environment for top performers. Those people need to go, they bring the company down. I WANT Walmart to be successful.

That’s unnecessarily harsh. While I don’t particularly like HR, they aren’t the ones making this call. I’d look up the chain to Lore who seems to have taken over everything in an abdication from McMillon

Nope, not harsh. HR makes the recommendations and the uppers "approve" it.

So son't tell me it's not HR.

So I'll add that all executive leadership should be replaced and HR let go as well.

And no golden parachutes for them either.

I would second what 2fms said. There are a lot of people who were jerks to suppliers and then expect them to hire them when Mama Walmart tosses them aside.

What these folks don’t realize is that the supplier community talks. And if you are a jerk, a lot of them like to see ex Walmart associates get their just desserts. I know of several folks who weren’t able to get hired.

I have a buyer friend who is specifically worried about this. If he negotiates hard like Walmart wants him to, is he going to be able to find a supplier job when that buying gig is done? There’s a reason why there are so many brokers who are ex buyers...

I’ve found that local vendors are open to hire former Walmart Associates, but the associate needs to understand that they’ve likely been put on a pedestal for years if in a buying/financial influence role and as soon as that title is stripped you are no longer of value to them (them being your old supplier relationships) and just assuming they would hire you is naive. Like it or not, many Walmart folks are guilty of the ego that comes with such influence at often such a young/inexperienced age. Walmart is so large that you have senior directors of the most insignificant/specialized functions and those just don’t exist elsewhere. If Walmart makes a $100k hire and they’re terrible, it has no actual impact on the P&L vs. if a small vendor makes a mistake they can lose their entire business. I think the key to success outside of Walmart (in NWA) is to exercise some humility and bring your expectations in line with reality. The most difficult, yet important, task is to find ways to articulate your skills, experiences, etc in terms of what the vendor is looking for. Make no mistake about it, vendors respect the “role” at Walmart not the “person” in the role. The “role” is what makes the financial commitments and they know the “person” can turnover at any time.

The biggest problem I have with that sentiment is that the NWA area is hardly an economic hotbed of job opportunities. There are plenty of people with children in school or family members near by that they take care of that makes relocating far from ideal. If WM would relax the draconian practices of regulating how the local vendor partners can utilize former associates it would help, but as long as that is in place a layoff generally necessitates a move.

In the past Walmart has leased space on Melissa Dr. in a warehouse during large scale layoffs. One could easily swing by and observe activity there. In the past members of HR, benefits, and Challenge Gray & Christmas were posted up there. After the actual layoff meeting you were told to go by that location to learn about benefits, etc. I believe small scale impacts don't utilize that building. The layoff conversation definitely lasts no more than 15 minutes. Just ask for the folder and leave. Also you no longer get "walked out" as people claim. You simply turn in your badge, computer, etc and leave. The funny thing about a HO layoff is that unless you're truly a low performer, you have a good chance of getting another role within 60 days, since the company historically got back to positive headcount rather quickly. At the end of the day, its a job and not a family. You should never value yourself on something so fragile as a specific job. There is life after Walmart. It is not indentured servitude. You have choices.

Typically ISD rooms are not booked until after 6 PM the night before. There are none booked as yet.

Anyone see any ISD rooms booked?

It doesn't take more than 15 minutes per person, if that. There is nothing to talk about when you're laid off. They are not there to talk about your feelings, or console you, if you're sad, or share in your happy dance if you're happy.

It's literally a script. "As of today your position is being eliminated and is no longer available to you." They give you a packet of information that has the documents with the terms of the severance agreement. They ask you for your laptop, they take your badge and they tell you to go home and read the information in the packet. They may ask if you have personal effects at your desk and say they will arrange for you to get them. They don't ask you to sign anything.

If you are happy, you do cartwheels all the way to your car!

It is typically only 15 minutes per person does that mean twice as many impacted?

3 rooms at 1/2 hour per person for 6 hours... Hmmmmmm....

Just a guess... Based of course on past episodes I am aware of...

There are three vendor rooms booked for the 25th at the MLK building by a senior HR manager in merchandising for the entire day.

I had heard it was getting bumped if they could get all the docs printed and the vendor doing the layoffs could get all of their people here a week early. I'm guessing one or both of those didn't happen.

No trolling intended. This was from my HR source. If it didn't happen, I apologize for the misinformation. The last people I want to mislead are the commoners like myself.

Looks like hcn successfully trolled us. Going to bed.

nope

Has anyone got a mtg planner for tomorrow?

That’s unnecessarily harsh. While I don’t particularly like HR, they aren’t the ones making this call. I’d look up the chain to Lore who seems to have taken over everything in an abdication from McMillon.

Hopefully most of the HR team will be let go as well.

Anyone know who was impacted yet? Heard HR was hit today.

This is being bumped up to tomorrow due to news reports. Meeting invites will be sent out tonight. No info on what areas impacted first.

Sounds like applying for internal jobs? Need to be applying for external and getting out of there... just because you move to a new position inside the company does not mean you are “safe”. Not even a promotion can prevent a position from being “eliminated”. Best bet is to find a job with the government or a defense contractor if you are in (IT). Because those jobs require you to be American most of the time, with no offshoring (outsourcing) to third world commodity staffed countries...

Ours were 37.

I heard AES scores were normal last year. I’ve never heard of a 30%.

Totally agree. And all true here too. Everyone I know has been applying for jobs. And our teams AES score was like 30%, just terrible.

I also heard this rumor, but which departments and how many people? He entire thing is handled so poorly by management, at least in my department. Everyone knows cuts are coming, management knows everyone knows, and yet they still have the balls to look us all in the face and says it’s just rumors. I’d love for them to have the class to say either this department is fine, sleep easy tonight or yes, some cuts are likely to this team, and we don’t know who yet. Either way, of my team of two dozen ish, just about every single one of us has been applying for jobs for six months, and the turnover rate of the HO continues to be huge. About half the buyers turned over last year. And it’s just going to get worse, more cuts and larger cuts as the company goes digital. But, hey, our people make the difference!!! Greatest marketing and propaganda line ever. Our CEO made tens of millions last year, your VP also made a fortune - what did you make? And that 2.5% “raise” inflation adjustment really. We’re just a number people! Accept it and stop being loyal to a fault, because they don’t give a sh-- about you.