Wilmington, Massachusetts-based Symbotic, a robotics warehouse automation company, has announced a post-merger reduction in force at its Andover, Massachusetts-based robotics business acquired from Walmart in January 2025.
The reduction in force will impact 400 employees, commencing on June 27, 2025. The decision may have been driven by Walmart's promise to defray some employee severance costs if the grocery automation unit employees were laid off in the first year.
According to a company statement, “While decisions like these are always difficult, we made them following a thorough post-close review of our operations to ensure we are best positioned for the future with an effective structure to continue executing our long-term growth strategy. We appreciate the contributions of the impacted employees and are committed to treating every employee respectfully during this change.”
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something terrible hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall, why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?