Walmart to shut down three US-based tech hubs, relocate staff

New York: Walmart Inc will shut down three of its US technology hubs, and has asked hundreds of workers to relocate if they want to keep their jobs, a company spokesperson announced on Monday.Nearly all technology staff across Walmart will be expected to work in their offices for at least two days a week, said Robert Munroe, Walmart’s director of global communications.The retailer will close offices that housed technology staff in Austin, Texas, in Carlsbad, California and in Portland, Oregon. The operations will move to hubs including one in San Bruno, California or the company’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, he said, citing a memo sent last week by Walmart’s global technology head, Suresh Kumar.“We have decided, looking at our location strategy, that we will exit those three hubs,” he said, adding that the combined employment at the three offices was in hundreds.“Everything is variable; there is no set date that (this transfer) must be completed,” he added. The company currently has 11 technology hubs in the United States and six abroad, according to its website.Walmart, which employs more than 1.3 million people in the United States, will pay transfer costs of workers who moved earlier and make severance payments to those who decide to leave the company.The directive on returning to the office follows similar requirements from several other US companies, including Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), Uber (UBER.N) and Starbucks (SBUX.O). Last month, Disney chief Bob Iger told employees to return to corporate offices for four days a week starting in March, while Starbucks required corporate workers to return to do so at least three days a week starting in January.“We believe the future in tech will be one in which working virtually will be the new normal, at least for most of the work we lead,” Kumar wrote two years ago.Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.