Walmart will cut 1,500 corporate jobs in order to trim expenses and speed up decision-making, just days after warning of price hikes due to Trump’s tariffs.
The billion-dollar corporation is set to reshape its global technology operations, e-commerce fulfillment in U.S. stores, Walmart Connect, and its advertising business, according to a person familiar with the plans who was speaking to the Wall Street Journal.
In the wake of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ in April, Walmart said it would do its best to keep prices low for as long as possible. Still, it could not guarantee that it would absorb the impact of tariffs on its products, even after the president demanded that the company do so.
The WSJ source revealed that stark job cuts near the 1,500 mark and fresh new roles that align with the company's future goals were also anticipated.
Speaking with the newspaper, Walmart CFO John David Rainey explained that, following the tariffs, prices of in-demand items such as strollers would rise.
“If you’re a young family and you have a baby and you’re coming home from hospital and you need to buy a car seat, that car seat typically costs $350.
“With a 30 percent tariff, it’s going to be over $100 more now.”
He said the impact would apply to many products that get imported into the U.S. from overseas.
Over the weekend, President Trump complained that Walmart, the largest retailer in the U.S., was blaming his recent tariffs for “raising prices” and said the company could “eat” the additional cost of tariffs without passing them onto consumers.
Other retailers have had to adjust to the tariffs, and Walmart’s changes could set a precedent for competitors, who watch on in anticipation of the company’s next move.
“What that does is stress the overall wallet for consumers to where they have less to spend on those other discretionary things and so they’re spending more on the necessities,” Rainey added.
Trump asserts his tariff plan is necessary to secure the U.S. with fairer trading policies, believing it will bring in billions of dollars and boost domestic manufacturing.
However, the deal rollout caused chaos in global stock markets, fueled by fears of rising consumer prices, inflation, and a potential recession.
Since then, the president has eased some of those tariffs, dropping China’s 145 percent tariff to 30 percent and delaying global tariffs for 90 days as the U.S. seeks to make deals with other countries.
In response to the president, a spokesperson for Walmart said, “We have always worked to keep our prices as low as possible, and we won’t stop. We’ll keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can, given the reality of small retail margins.”
The Independent contacted Walmart for comment.
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