Amid Walmart Mass Layoff in US, Walmart Philippine Supplier Is Hiring Thousands of Factory Workers

By Giuliano De Leon

May 14, 2024 05:28 PM EDT

While Walmart is laying off hundreds of employees across the United States, a supplier of the American e-commerce giant is doing the opposite as it aims to hire thousands of factory workers. Here's everything you need to know about the latest effort of Welively Inc.

Walmart Philippine Supplier is Hiring Thousands of Factory Workers

Welively Inc., a Philippine garment firm that supplies Walmart, announced that it is hiring at least 1,000 workers for its factories in the Asian country. If it achieves its target number, the hiring effort would drastically increase its workforce by around 50%.

Fobap (Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines), a local trade association of apparel exporters, confirmed the Walmart Philippine supplier's hiring effort.

Fobap President Robert Young shared that Welively wants to hire workers for its factories in Laguna (Cabuyao), Batangas, and Pampanga (Clark).

"They are expanding and orders are coming in due to the United States and China conflict. Walmart is getting away from China and shifting its orders to other countries," said the Fobap president via Inquirer.Net.

Walmart's US Mass Layoff

While Welively is hiring thousands of workers, Walmart is laying off hundreds of its corporate workers in the US. According to CNBC, the mass layoff comes as the retailer relocates its employees to its Arkansas headquarters.

Walmart Chief People Officer Donna Morris sent a memo to employees, saying that the mass layoff is meant to encourage staff to return to offices. This effort started in 2022 when the e-commerce giant returned some employees to the Arkansas HQ.

However, the retailer said it needs to take a step further by asking most of their remote workers in Atlanta, Dallas, and Toronto to relocate. Some will be assigned to New Jersey or the San Francisco Bay Area offices.