So, Walmart has indeed laid off some important folks with some knowledge that can't be replaced in ISD/DGTC. What they have done in doing so is made it the job of the vendor to train. First they beat you down on prices taking away practically all margin...and now they will expect the vendors affected to hold their hand through processes that were well known until today. The vendors, of course, will do as the giant bully requests.
As for bloat, Walmart has tons. But...there is more bloat in corporate management than anywhere else. The teams within ISD are separated to such an extent that getting anything done in the likes of an end to end system is a pain. The teams do not communicate as they should...which, in my opinion, is square on the too many disparate teams and managers. You add the layers of management in there and it is a political nightmare with everyone vying for autonomy, so as to keep their nice cushy management job, instead of getting things done. Well, that is until some Home Office executive has a pet project. But pet projects always end with the teams at DGTC that get stuck with supporting it hating the vendor as they see it as going around them. It is. But we are just trying to make a profit, just like Walmart is, and the quickest way to a profit is getting a Home Office executive pet project, so can't blame them. Tangent, I know. Point is...corporate management is what needs to be streamlined....at least in technology...not the engineers, analysts and programmers that do the work. Just my take.
Good luck to all who lost their jobs. Luckily, we live in a place that can almost absorb it all and many of you will move to greener pastures. Sometimes, blessings come from things like this.