Walmart is laying off 62 corporate workers in Washington state as part of the closure of Store No8, its innovation-related business unit.
A new filing with the Washington state Employment Security Department posted Monday shows 62 workers being laid off Feb. 9 due to an office closure in Redmond, Wash.
A Walmart spokesperson confirmed that the layoffs are related to the shutdown of Store No8.
“Store No8 was established as a standalone model seven years ago and we’ve since graduated talent and capabilities that are now fully embedded across the broader company,” a spokesperson said in a statement to GeekWire. “Therefore, the standalone model we established with Store No8 is no longer necessary.”
Walmart will maintain a tech office in Bellevue, Wash., where a majority of its Washington-based tech workers are based. The company has more than 20 open jobs for Bellevue-based roles.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Walmart was closing Store No8.
Walmart said in 2022 that it planned to expand its global tech team by more than 5,000 employees, including nearly 200 in the Seattle area.
But last year it closed tech offices in Austin, Carlsbad, Calif., and Portland, Ore. The company is now looking to cut costs as consumers are cautious about spending, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Walmart established a Seattle-area presence in 2021, right in the backyard of Amazon, one of its main retail rivals. The company has bolstered its online delivery capabilities in recent years, and this month announced a generative AI-related partnership with Microsoft.
