Remote Walmart employees across the United States are now questioning the company’s newly implemented in-person work policy. Some employees who have been ordered to relocate are even considering resigning.
In May, Walmart mandated that hundreds of remote workers relocate to its corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, or its other hubs in Hoboken, New Jersey, and Northern California. A recent Bloomberg report revealed that employees opposed the return-to-office mandate during a company-wide Zoom call, with some resigning.
During the call, one participant described the RTO policy as “a bunch of bullsh-t.” In contrast, others expressed concerns about the challenges of living in Arkansas, childcare arrangements, increased workload, and the potential impact on their partners’ careers due to the relocation.
A Walmart employee informed Bloomberg that he decided to resign from the company rather than relocate on such short notice. According to the report, employees unable to relocate must terminate their employment with the company between August 2024 and January 2025.
Industry average these days is ~25-50% turnover when it’s just a return to office mandate. As in, no relocation, just adding a daily commute.
Relocation has always been 99% turnover. Very few people are ever willing to spend not only their lives, but those of their family, just for a job.
This isn’t really any different than Tesla or Disney moving offices that were in the news recently. It’s a mildly disguised layoff, and they will hire new (probably fewer) staff at the new office.