(Bloomberg)—Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, said it dismissed about 30 senior executives in China amid a restructuring in Asia that includes store closures in Japan and management changes in India.
The departure of the executives, including directors and more senior staff, is to streamline and simplify the business and is “consistent with actions taken over the last several months,” Wal-Mart’s China spokesman Ray Bracy said Wednesday in an e-mail reply to questions. A small number of the employees have mutually agreed to leave the business, he said.
The move comes amid a management shakeup in the U.S., where Wal-Mart announced the departure of its U.S. merchandising chief on Nov. 25. The company also reappointed Scott Price as its Asia chief this month as the retailer faces headwinds in its biggest markets within the region.
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Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas-based, is encountering stiff competition in China as well as dealing with food safety scandals such as fox DNA found in donkey meat. The retailer had said in October 2013 it plans to add as many as 110 stores over three years in China, while shutting some outlets and remodeling dozens more as it overhaul its business.
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Among the executives dismissed are vice presidents from Wal-Mart China and Sam’s Club China, according to two Wal-Mart China employees, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution. Others were from divisions including merchandising and innovation, they said. Bracy declined to comment.
Price is taking charge of a region where the retailer is also closing about 30 outlets in Japan as it focuses on its fresh food offerings, according to the company on Oct. 31.
In India, Wal-Mart said in October it will open its first new wholesale store after a two-year hiatus. It ended a six-year partnership with India’s Bharti Enterprises Pvt. last year, choosing to focus on wholesale stores rather than retail ones in the country.
Wal-Mart appointed Murali Lanka, an executive at its U.S. business, chief operations officer of its Indian unit, to lead store operations, sales, business development and marketing. The appointment will be effective from Dec. 1, the company said last month.