Layoffs have begun at Walmart Health less than a month after the mega-retailer announced it would shutter all clinics and end virtual care.
Walmart Health will lay off 74 virtual care employees in Phoenix, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice filed May 17. The notice did not specify when the layoffs would take effect, but employers are required to file notices at least 60 days in advance.
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A Walmart Health spokesperson said employees will receive severance pay and are eligible to transfer to other Walmart or Sam's Club locations.
Walmart announced April 30 it was closing down Walmart Health due to a challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs that made the business unsustainable — a sharp reversal from the expansion plans it had previously laid out for 2024. The company did not share the closing dates for its 51 clinics across five states, but said some would remain open for up to 90 days.
The clinics, which started opening in 2019, provided primary care, dental, behavioral health, lab, X-ray and telehealth services.
"There were a number of aspects that were going well, and we really want to be part of the solution to improving healthcare in this country. But the reality is that given reimbursement rates and costs to serve, we could no longer see a path to achieving an acceptable level of profitability, and we're committed to being disciplined with our investments," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on the company's first-quarter earnings call last week.
Walmart has said it will continue to operate its approximately 4,600 pharmacies and more than 3,000 vision centers.
Earlier this month, Walmart said it would cut hundreds of corporate jobs and require most U.S.- and Canada-based employees to relocate to offices in San Francisco, Hoboken, New Jersey, and Bentonville, Arkansas, where its main headquarters is located.
