The world's largest retailer and the country's largest private employer, with 2.1 million workers globally, said most of the relocations will be to its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, while some will move to its offices in the San Francisco Bay Area or Hoboken, New Jersey.

Walmart Inc (WMT.N), announced on Tuesday that it plans to cut hundreds of jobs at its corporate headquarters and relocate a majority of its U.S. and Canada-based remote workforce to three offices, a shift in strategy after initially endorsing virtual work during the pandemic.

"We are asking the majority of associates working remotely, and the majority of associates within our offices in Dallas, Atlanta, and our Toronto Global Tech office, to relocate," Donna Morris, Walmart's chief people officer wrote in a memo to its U.S. campus associates on Tuesday.

The world's largest retailer and the country's largest private employer, with 2.1 million workers globally, said most of the relocations will be to its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, while some will move to its offices in the San Francisco Bay Area or Hoboken, New Jersey.

The goal of the move was to bring more people together more often but also to strengthen Walmart's culture and develop the careers of its employees, Morris said in the memo.

The retail giant also said it was reducing "several hundred" roles in its headquarters due to changes in some parts of its business, without elaborating further.

The Wall Street Journal first reported,news of the job cuts late on Monday.

On a "business update" call with employees on Monday, remote workers were given until July 1 to make a decision about relocating or to quit with severance, according to a source familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity . The source added that Walmart would be closing its Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto offices later this year.