Walmart is asking 1,266 employees working at its so-called technology innovation hub in downtown Dallas to relocate to other U.S. markets as part of its plan requiring remote employees to report to one of the retail giant's primary offices.
Walmart sent a letter to the state of Texas that was made public this week, detailing that many of the 1,266 employees work remotely but are assigned to an office space at 603 Munger Ave. in Dallas.
The retailer told employees earlier this month it would be asking workers in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto to relocate to its corporate offices at its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, as well as regional offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Hoboken, New Jersey. Walmart has changed its operations, which has led to the retailer cutting hundreds of jobs at its campuses, the company said in a memo.
In Dallas, Walmart anticipates "that many impacted associates will relocate or continue employment in a new position within the company before the end of the paid transition period," said Maren Waggoner, Walmart's senior vice president and chief people officer, in the letter to the state. "All affected associates can apply for open positions at other company facilities."
The Dallas property known as Factory Six-03 is owned by Plano, Texas-based Granite Properties. Employees not relocating to a new position within Walmart's umbrella will be laid off in phases of the paid transition period, effective Aug. 9, Aug. 14., Nov. 1 or Jan. 31, 2025, according to the letter.
Walmart is asking the majority of associates working in or reporting to the Dallas office at 603 Munger to "relocate to one of our primary offices," Waggoner said in the letter.
Paul Bennett, Granite Properties' senior managing director, told CoStar News the landlord could not speak on behalf of Walmart but said, "We have good leasing activity at Factory Six03," with it being about 90% leased. Recently, the property owner renewed a 32,000-square-foot office space, expanded another tenant for about 8,000 square feet and added a new lease totaling 5,600 square feet to the historic warehouse turned Class A office building."
Walmart did not immediately respond to interview requests from CoStar News seeking additional information.
Sam's Club, the warehouse division of Walmart, is the largest tenant at Factory Six-03 with 46,024 square feet of office space, according to the latest CoStar data. The historic red brick building was originally built in 1903 as a cracker and candy factory.
Granite Properties has been landing some big office leases within a mile or two of the property at its 23Springs project in Uptown Dallas.
Walmart is a major employer in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, the nation's fourth-largest metropolitan area with more than 8.1 million residents. The retailer has about 590 stores in the Lone Star State and 25 distribution and fulfillment centers, including a new high-tech facility in North Texas. Walmart has also been testing drone delivery in the region to reach millions of households.
The retailer also alerted the state of Texas it planned to close a call center at 1025 W. Trinity Mills Road in Carrollton, Texas, a suburb about 20 miles north of downtown Dallas. The portion of the facility dedicated to call center space is closing on Aug. 9, according to the letter.
Like employees at the downtown Dallas office, Call center workers not able to otherwise secure employment in a role elsewhere at Walmart during a paid 90-day transition period will be laid off in phases effective Aug. 9, Aug. 14, Nov. 1 or Jan. 31, 2025, according to the letter.