—Michael Lyles, B1Daily

Walmart, like many other retailers, have increased its prices due to tariffs because tariffs—taxes imposed by governments on imported goods—raise the cost of importing certain products. When tariffs are implemented or increased, the cost of sourcing goods from other countries goes up, and retailers often pass these additional costs onto consumers in the form of higher prices.

Tariffs can lead to supply chain disruptions or shortages, which can also drive prices upward, but suprisingly has nothing to do with the recent layoffs.

Based off of data from ‘The Layoff‘ web surveyer, Walmart has actually laid off hundreds of workers at least, to a few thousand workers at most, almost every month without pause since May of 2023.

Walmart has laid off thousands in last 4 months alone, citing various reasons, including restructuring, cost-cutting measures, changes in business strategy, automation, or shifts in market demand.

The most recent round of layoffs included 1,500 corporate employees across various departments within its home office in Bentonville, Arkansas, multiple reports say.

In a confidential memo shared with associates on May 21, Walmart executives said the company is “reshaping” some of its teams in an effort to modernize its business and enhance “associate, customer and member experiences.”

The latest rounds of Walmart layoffs come less than a week after Walmart informed customers it could be raising its prices due to tariffs raised on China, Canada, and Mexico by the Trump administration.

—Michael Lyles, B1Daily