Bentonville, May 25: Suresh Kumar, executive vice president, Global CTO and Chief Development office at Walmart Inc., has become the talk of the town as the retail giant cut 1,500 tech jobs. According to reports, Walmart is laying off its corporate staff from its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas and other employees from its global technology team. The Walmart layoffs round have been implemented as a part of a strategic effort to streamline operations, adapt to the AI shift and improve the company's cost efficiency. 

The announcement of layoffs was made by Walmart CTO Suresh Kumar and US CEO John Furner in a memo. The latest round of Walmart layoffs targets employees working in technology, e-commerce fulfillment stores, and advertising divisions. Amid this, Suresh Kumar has been caught in the news as reports raise questions about corporate structuring and the H-1B visa programme. Microsoft Layoffs in May 2025: Satya Nadella-Led Company Expected To Target Middle Management and Non-Tech Roles Next Month.

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Who is Suresh Kumar? Check His History, Education and More

Suresh Kumar is a Bengaluru-born CTO, Executive VP and CDO at Walmart Inc. He is responsible for setting the technical strategy and combining the company's strengths to deliver the best customer experience as Chief Technology Officer; as Chief Development Officer, he guides the team in building tools and systems to transform the business operations and improve the associates' productivity. Suresh Kumar has nearly 25 years of experience in the technology sector, as he has previously worked at Google, Microsoft and Amazon.

Walmart CTO Suresh Kumar was born in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru, and reportedly spent his childhood in the same city. Kumar holds a PhD in engineering from Princeton University and completed his bachelor of technology from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras.

Who is Suresh Kumar? How Is He Involved in Walmart Layoffs Debate?

Suresh Kumar faced the heat after the announcement of Walmart layoffs, which affected 1,500 employees. According to a report by Times of India, a user questioned job cuts at Walmart, saying, "500. Wow, that's a bloodbath. How many H-1Bs are they bringing in next year?" Another user on X responded to the news of the layoffs and said, "... You know, the kind of US worker who's replaced by H1B." Another user said 1,35,000 H1-B visas were approved amid Walmart's mass layoffs round. Another user said that 40% of Walmart's team was H1B from India. Tech Layoffs Fear: Bengaluru-Based 30-Year-Old Developer Afraid of Taking Home Loan Amid Fear and Uncertainty of Losing Job Due to AI, Looks for Alternate Ways To Earn.

People reacted to the layoff announcement and blamed Suresh Kumar, who is earning USD 15 million, for the decision. According to the report, Walmart, which has 1.6 million employees in the US and another 2.1 million globally, stated that the job cuts were part of reducing expenses and improving decision-making. The H-1B visa programme allows companies to hire foreigners for skilled roles for less wages.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 25, 2025 01:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).