The rate of layoffs is still higher than the average employee would like, but it looks like it won't stop any time soon. Companies will have to provide severance packages for layoffs, but the retail giant is allegedly using other methods to get employees to quit on their own.
Walmart's 'Quiet Firing' Tactic
Even a corporate giant like Walmart is not exempt from adding to the number of laid-off employees amidst the current state of the economy. The company already has plans to reduce its corporate workforce by the hundreds.
However, not everyone is given the courtesy of a direct layoff. Instead of telling workers that they need to slash the number of staff, Walmart is allegedly making jobs less tolerable to urge them to quit, as reported by Business Insider.
Remote employees are now required to move to offices, which is a change from the previously hybrid work system. On top of that, there have been relocations for certain staff, all of which are being moved to smaller offices.
The affected workers are those who are based in Dallas, Atlanta, and Toronto, and are set to move to central hubs like the retail giant's headquarters in Arkansas, New Jersey, or Southern California. The company has already closed eight stores just this year.
The return to office mandate is said to be a common tactic companies use to get rid of workers without the need for a mass layoff, according to career experts. It is also referred to as "quiet firing," as the move is subtle enough to avoid raising red flags.
Given that Walmart employs 1.6 million people in the US, a mass layoff would cost the company a fortune for severance packages. Walmart is not the only one to use the return-to-office mandate as well. Several other companies are doing the same.
Amazon and Meta's RTO Mandate
As mentioned before, the RTO mandate is a common practice in companies now that the pandemic has died down. Among the giants in the industry that have done the same is Amazon. As predicted, employees aren't too happy about the new policy.
For one, some only applied for the job because they were told that it would remain remote. If workers refused the mandate, CNBC reported that it would affect their chances of a promotion, but this didn't stop some staffers from not complying.
"Promotions are one of the many ways we support employees' growth and development, and there are a variety of factors we consider when determining an employee's readiness for the next level," Amazon representative Brad Glasser said.
As for Meta, they at least have the opportunity to work from home, although that's only possible if the employee has already worked in the company for at least one and a half years. Those with a minimum of a year will have to apply for the option to work from home.
This is likely part of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's vision for the company's "Year of Efficiency," which is probably just a fancy term for laying off staff for the company to be more cost-effective. Unfortunately, other companies have done the same thing.
