In June, it was reported that Walmart was eliminating some of the back office jobs in 500 of its stores.
Now, it appears as if back office jobs at all of its 4,600 locations in the U.S. are in jeopardy.
Back office positions were traditionally highly desired by employees because they were less taxing on the body and paid better. High pay is one of the primary reasons that Walmart is looking to eliminate the positions.
It is said that back office jobs at Walmart can pay as much as $15 an hour; the starting pay for Walmart employees is $9 an hour.
Much of the clerical work that would traditionally be completed by back office workers is now expected to be automated. This marks just part of a growing trend— truck drivers being replaced by self-driving vehicles, bank tellers by ATMs, etc.
Walmart is expected to cut 7,000 employees from back office jobs. The corporation employs about 2.3 million workers in total.
The good news is that Walmart will offer its affected employees the opportunity to still work at the retail giant in another capacity. Some jobs may pay more— such as being a manager— while others would pay less.
Walmart’s elimination of back office jobs is expected to extend into 2017. They have been significantly affected by the influx in popularity of e-commerce sites, which is part of the reason that they’re believed to be making changes.
