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BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart plans to eliminate about 7,000 back-office jobs at its U.S. stores over the coming months, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The move is part of an effort to boost efficiency and free store employees to spend time on the sales floor interacting with customers, according to the Journal article published Thursday.
But the report noted that the positions being cut, in accounting and invoicing, are highly coveted jobs with comparatively high hourly pay. The article quoted two employees, one making about $13 and hour and the other about $15.
Last year, Walmart boosted its starting wage for full-time store associates to $9 an hour, and this year it raised starting pay again to $10 an hour, for employees to complete a six-month training program.
The work, which includes managing a store’s cash flow or processing claims from manufacturers that deliver products directly to stores, will be handled by central offices or automated. The Journal report said Walmart intends to use new money-counting machines in its stores to help manage cash flow; the retailer tested the machines in 500 stores earlier this year.
