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Walmart cutting 450 jobs at headquarters

By Amy R. Connolly

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Retail giant Walmart is cutting 450 employees from its headquarters, including managers and vice presidents, amid slowing sales and increased online competition.

In a Friday memo, CEO Doug McMillon told employees the cuts were part of a bigger plan to make the company "a more nimble organization that serves customers better." He said the need to become a "more agile company that can easily adapt to shifting customer demands" was the driving force behind the layoffs. Laid off employees will receive 60 days of pay, plus two weeks of pay for every year of employment with the company.

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"This is an important time in our history -- requiring all of us to think critically about our business and not be afraid to challenge the status quo," he wrote. "For the company, this in part means pulling back in some areas and investing in others."

In August, Walmart reported a 15 percent second-quarter net income drop from the previous year. In response, the company lowered its profit targets for the current quarter and fiscal year. At the same time, the company added more staff to speed checkout lines.. The company announced a boost in the hourly minimum wage to $9 an hour in April with a second expected bump to $10 an hour by February 2016.

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Walmart, as well as other retailers that include Target, are facing stronger competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com. Walmart is also facing a backlash from customers who have increasingly found items out of stock and complained the stores are messy and staff is unfriendly.

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