Walmart is restructuring its tech teams in a push to move faster and compete globally
Walmart’s corporate restructuring reflects a broader strategy to consolidate its global technology operations and compete more aggressively with Amazon
Walmart confirmed Tuesday that it is cutting or relocating approximately 1,000 corporate employees as part of a significant internal restructuring of its global technology and product teams. The move was announced through a memo sent to staff by two of the company’s top technology executives, Suresh Kumar, global chief technology and development officer, and Daniel Danker, executive vice president of AI acceleration, product, and design. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news, and a Walmart spokesperson confirmed the number of affected roles to Business Insider.
The restructuring comes as Walmart, under new CEO John Furner, accelerates an aggressive digital transformation strategy aimed at closing the gap with its primary competitors, including Amazon, Costco, and Aldi. The company employed 2.1 million people as of January, making the 1,000 affected roles a targeted reduction rather than a broad workforce cut.
What the internal memo actually said
The memo to employees framed the decision around operational efficiency and clarity of ownership rather than cost-cutting for its own sake. Kumar and Danker described a shift over the past year from building separately for Walmart’s various divisions, including Walmart U.S., Sam’s Club, and international markets, toward a unified approach on a single shared platform. That shift, they explained, created redundancies where different teams were working on similar problems without coordination.
The restructuring involves updating some roles to better match current work, bringing overlapping teams together, and aligning certain positions to key locations where related work is already concentrated. Employees affected by the changes are being encouraged to apply for open roles within the company. Many have been asked to relocate to Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, or to its offices in Northern California.
A person familiar with the restructuring told Business Insider the changes were not driven by AI automation, pushing back against the most obvious interpretation of a tech-focused reorganization at one of the world’s largest companies.
A pattern of restructuring at Walmart
This is not the first time Walmart has reduced its corporate headcount in recent years. The company laid off approximately 1,500 corporate employees in May 2025, stating at the time that it needed to remove layers and complexity from its organizational structure. Tuesday’s announcement suggests the process of streamlining is ongoing as the company continues to evolve its internal operations.
Danker joined Walmart last summer from Instacart, where he held a senior role, to fill a newly created position focused on leading the company’s AI ambitions globally. Since his arrival, he and Kumar have been reviewing internal structures with an eye toward eliminating duplication and building teams that can execute more efficiently at scale.
The bigger competitive picture
The restructuring is best understood in the context of the competitive landscape Walmart is navigating. Amazon has held a significant head start in AI-powered retail infrastructure, including its generative AI shopping assistant Rufus, which helps customers navigate purchasing decisions. Walmart began rolling out its own suite of AI-powered tools in July of last year, introducing what it described as super agents designed to improve the customer shopping experience and streamline back-end operations.
The company has committed substantial resources to closing that technology gap. Furner began his tenure as CEO with a cautious outlook for the coming year, citing the fragile state of American consumers amid broader economic pressures. That caution has not slowed the company’s investment in digital infrastructure, however. If anything, the latest restructuring suggests Walmart is doubling down on its belief that the path to long-term competitiveness runs directly through its ability to build and deploy technology faster and at a global scale.
For the roughly 1,000 employees whose roles are being eliminated or relocated, the disruption is real. The memo acknowledged that directly, noting that some work has been consolidated and some roles eliminated, and committing to support those affected with care while helping them explore other opportunities within the company where possible.