Walmart To Lay Off More Workers In Hoboken

HOBOKEN, NJ — After laying off or relocating more than 500 workers in their Hoboken corporate office last year, Walmart announced plans this week to lay off or relocate another 100 employees by May.

The company submitted its plans in a WARN statement to the state of New Jersey dated Feb. 1, a federal requirement for companies laying off 50 people or more.

Last year, the company announced plans to lay off approximately 500 people in the Hoboken offices in 2025.

The company occupies several floors of 221 River St. in Hoboken, a waterfront office center. They do not have a retail store in the mile-square city.

A Walmart spokesperson told Patch in an interview on Wednesday that most of the 100 employees will be relocated out of Hoboken rather than laid off.

"Those relocations are part of our ongoing strategy in Walmart," he said, "making sure jobs are in the right locations to best serve our customers. They're relocations instead of eliminations."

The company had announced a strategy last May to lay off as many as 1,500 employees throughout the company.

A letter sent from Vanessa Smith, a vice president at Walmart, to Hoboken Mayor Emily Jabbour and the state of New Jersey said, "Most relocations will be to our Home Office in Bentonville, Arkansas, but some will be to our offices in the San Francisco Bay Area... All affected associates can apply for open positions at other company facilities."

According to the letter, employees were notified on Jan. 29.

Some of the Hoboken workers are currently working remotely, the letter noted.

Mayor Emily Jabbour did not respond to a request for comment, but this story will be updated if one is received.

A Walmart spokesperson said that there are no plans to shrink Walmart's physical space in Hoboken — and in fact, their offices are being renovated and expanded in three phases, including adding a new floor last year.

PRIOR REPORTING: Nearly 500 Walmart Employees To Be Laid Off Or Relocated From Hoboken