Change is a part of the territory when new leadership comes into a business.
Since Wal-Mart completed its acquisition of Jet.com in September, the e-commerce site's founder Marc Lore has been studying his new parent company's business and he's shaking it up with the blessing of the retailer's CEO.
Wal-Mart said it is realigning leadership to better match how customers are shopping today — not just at its stores but on its main website and Jet.com.
Two memos sent to employees Friday from Lore, president & CEO Walmart eCommerce U.S., and Doug McMillon, Wal-Mart's president and CEO, explain changes that blend leadership for stores and online.
In McMillon's memo, he said, "we need more speed and less bureaucracy" to better serve shoppers to save them money and time. He added, some elimination of positions is part of the effort "to stay lean and fast" but in other cases, new positions will be created.
On Tuesday, people close to the matter told CNBC hundreds of headquarters' jobs would be eliminated before the end of January, many in human resources. The following day, tech company Workday said the retailer had purchases a subscription to its human resources platform.
The strategy is seemingly a continuation of its decision last year to combine corporate IT personnel at its Arkansas headquarters with its e-commerce team in Silicon Valley.
When traditional brick-and-mortar retailers began launching websites years ago, leadership teams were often separate. But as the world has changed and many consumers shop both online and in-store, more retailers are moving to integrate teams from two separate operational divisions, to one.
While it sounds like a simple concept, it can be difficult to execute. Some argue it's necessary integration pain, and Wal-Mart is later to the game than other retailers.
New responsibilities
Lore's team will work with Wal-Mart U.S. CEO Greg Foran and is a combination of individuals from Wal-Mart and Jet.com.
Liza Landsman was promoted to president of Jet.com from her prior position as chief customer officer.
Scott Hilton was promoted from chief revenue officer at Jet.com, to senior vice president and chief revenue officer overseeing Wal-Mart's owned merchandise selling, its marketplace sellers and digital store operations across Walmart.com, Jet.com and Hayneedle.com
Jeremy King was tapped to be executive vice president and U.S. chief technology officer and global platforms. King, who will lead U.S. technology, in-stores and online., was previously chief technology officer for Wal-Mart global eCommerce.
Jordan Sweetnam is now the retailer's vice president of customer experience, product, focusing on products, shoppers, and faster execution across the board for the retailer. Sweetnam was formerly the vice president of global product for Walmart eCommerce.
Seth Beal is assuming a new role as senior vice president, incubation and strategic partnerships, leading a team that works on identifying new technologies and ideas to better serve Walmart customers. Beal previously was SVP, global marketplace and digital store operations for Walmart eCommerce.
Tony Rogers, Walmart U.S. chief marketing officer, will now lead marketing over Walmart's stores, Walmart.com and Jet.com.
Nate Faust, co-founder and formerly COO at Jet.com, is now taking on the role of senior vice president for U.S. eCommerce and supply chain for Walmart U.S., overseeing logistics and supply chain for the organization in the U.S. for both stores and online.
Departures
Neil Ashe, who has been the head of Wal-Mart's global e-commerce efforts will be leaving the company on Jan. 31. It was previously announced that he would depart.
Michael Bender, Walmart global eCommerce chief operating officer is also leaving the company.
Last week, Walmart said Sam's Club CEO Rosalind Brewer was retiring and John Furner was stepping up to take over. Karenann Terrell will depart her role as chief information officer on Feb. 24.
New hire, new division
Clay Johnson joins Wal-Mart for a newly created role of enterprise chief information officer, reporting to CFO Brett Biggs. Johnson will focus on lowering costs, leveraging the retailer's scale, cybersecurity and the associate experience.
Wal-Mart is creating a new division that focuses on improving customer care, better managing returns and fraud prevention.