this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2024
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Remote Walmart employees across the United States are now questioning the company's newly implemented in-person work policy. Some employees who have been ordered to relocate are even considering resigning.

In May, Walmart mandated that hundreds of remote workers relocate to its corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, or its other hubs in Hoboken, New Jersey, and Northern California. A recent Bloomberg report revealed that employees opposed the return-to-office mandate during a company-wide Zoom call, with some resigning.

During the call, one participant described the RTO policy as "a bunch of bullsh-t." In contrast, others expressed concerns about the challenges of living in Arkansas, childcare arrangements, increased workload, and the potential impact on their partners' careers due to the relocation.

A Walmart employee informed Bloomberg that he decided to resign from the company rather than relocate on such short notice. According to the report, employees unable to relocate must terminate their employment with the company between August 2024 and January 2025.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 months ago

Worth noting that employees forced into similar situations should file for unemployment even though they resigned. It’s called constructive dismissal, which is basically when the company restructures your job and drastically changes it in some way. Like, for instance, changing your position from WFH to in-office, or cutting you from full time to part time.

From a legal standpoint, it is the same as them laying you off from your old job and offering you a new one with a modified job description. But if the new job position isn’t on par with what you were already doing, you don’t have to accept it and can file for unemployment instead.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago

They talk to like the one dude happy about the relocation. What about everyone else who doesn’t want to live in fucking Arkansas.

As a woman, you couldn’t pay me enough to live in a red state these days.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

Yeah, more layoffs dressed up as RTO.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Fuck walmart.

Stop shopping there if you can, people.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I never really shopped there. Its cheap and dirty. I always felt like I needed a shower afterwards.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Agreed. Walmart makes my soul feel dirty too.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

GET SLAMMED!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

You can't collect unemployment benefits if you resign. Make them fire you.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

Constructive dismissal often still allows collecting unemployment. Possibly even severance in some places.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

Employees were required to notify Walmart by July 1st of their intention to relocate, with the move scheduled to be completed by October 31st.

Awesome. So if I can't find a decent place to live, I have the additional headache of having to stay in a hotel or something while I search.

Additionally, the employee mentioned receiving a $10,000 credit to cover potential costs associated with selling their home, although they plan to retain ownership and rent the property instead.

This is why no one can afford housing you greedy piece of shit.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

What's the point of physically relocating REMOTE workers?

You've got other companies with remote workers on a different continent, and Walmart can't handle people a few cities or states over?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Forcing workers to relocate is just a way of laying them off by making them quit

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago

It's called constructive dismissal. They're not technically firing anyone, but they are trying to make the work conditions unfavorable so that people quit. Many places will allow you to get unemployment, and often also severance pay, if you can show that this is what's happening.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 months ago (1 children)

“Some employees who have been ordered to relocate are even considering resigning.“

Shows you what side the media is on.

If my employer asked me to literally abandon the home and life i have build to move to some backwater where they cant find enough employees. I am responding with a wrongful termination lawsuit because a demand so outrageous can only be an attempt to bully me in resignation. I refuse to believe anyone considers such reasonable if at all a demand made with human dignity and respect, which it does not.

I work to maintain my life, i am not living to maintain a business that would fire me on a whim if they so please. Like what the fuck are they thinking.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

Industry average these days is ~25-50% turnover when it's just a return to office mandate. As in, no relocation, just adding a daily commute.

Relocation has always been 99% turnover. Very few people are ever willing to spend not only their lives, but those of their family, just for a job.

This isn't really any different than Tesla or Disney moving offices that were in the news recently. It's a mildly disguised layoff, and they will hire new (probably fewer) staff at the new office.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

This just seems like a stealth redundancy run

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