Walmart to create “several hundred” new roles in US and India; laid-off employees eligible to apply

Walmart is set to introduce “several hundred new roles” across the United States and India following last week’s round of global layoffs. A top executive at the retail giant confirmed to Moneycontrol that these positions will be open to affected employees.

“We anticipate several hundred new roles as we reshape our teams... within each country, that is, the United States and India. Employees who were affected by last week's changes are eligible to apply for any of these roles,” the executive stated.

Several of those impacted are believed to be from Walmart’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in Bengaluru and Chennai, which support the company’s global operations.

On 21 May, Walmart announced that it would be laying off around 1,500 employees globally as part of a broader restructuring to streamline operations, cut costs, and enable faster decision-making. In a memo reviewed by Moneycontrol, senior leaders said the changes are designed to help Walmart “respond more quickly to a rapidly changing retail environment.”

Layoffs reflect wider industry trend The executive noted that the restructuring is in line with a broader trend across retail and tech sectors, where emerging technologies—particularly artificial intelligence (AI)—are transforming operations and altering the required skill sets.

Walmart is not alone. In 2025, major firms like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and CrowdStrike have also announced significant job cuts amid similar restructuring efforts. According to Layoffs.fyi, more than 61,000 tech workers have been laid off this year alone.

Despite the short-term impact, tech leaders remain optimistic about AI’s long-term potential as a net job creator. Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, and GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke are among those who have publicly supported this outlook. Chandrasekaran, speaking at a recent event, noted:

“Gen AI adoption wholeheartedly serves as—and proves to be—a net job creator for India. Let’s face the reality: certain routine jobs will go.”

AI-driven transformation at Walmart With over 10,500 stores and 240 million weekly customers, Walmart has been increasingly relying on AI to optimise product demand forecasting, inventory flow, and supply chain management.

Last month, the company announced it had reduced its “Trend-to-Product” timeline by as much as 18 weeks, enabling it to bring fashion items to shelves faster than ever before.

Walmart has also rolled out an internal Gen AI assistant, “Wally”, which is automating tasks such as data entry, performance analytics, operational support, and predictive modelling.

“After last week's changes, Walmart now has fewer organisational layers, leading to less complexity and ultimately faster decision making,” the executive said.

Preparing for the future of retail Walmart, the world’s largest company by revenue, says it is adapting to remain relevant amid rapidly evolving consumer behaviour.

“We’re constantly reassessing how we modernise the business to meet customer expectations—both present and future. In this case, that meant reshaping the organisation to support speed, collaboration, and innovation,” the executive added.

The restructuring follows a broader shift across global corporations, including Wells Fargo, which recently announced it would shutter its Chennai tech hub by FY27 and relocate staff to Bengaluru or Hyderabad.

Read More: Walmart layoffs spark backlash, targeting CTO over H-1B workers