A Massachusetts automation firm has introduced plans to put off tons of of workers at a facility it bought from Walmart earlier this yr.
Wilmington-based Symbiotic LLC, which develops automated warehouse expertise, will reduce 400 jobs on the Andover location by June 27, based on a Massachusetts Workers Adjustment Retraining Notice filed with the state on April 29.
Symbiotic acquired the Andover robotics unit from Walmart for $200 million, based on a Jan. 16, 2025, press release, and as much as an extra $350 million sooner or later, as a part of an ongoing relationship between the 2 corporations, which began in 2017.
The automation firm mentioned on the time that it could develop additional provide chain expertise to offer “accelerated pickup and supply choices” for Walmart clients.
In flip, Walmart agreed to deploy Symbiotic expertise in no less than 400 of its shops over the following few years, paying the corporate $520 million.
In keeping with the corporate, the layoffs are a part of Symbiotic’s course of of mixing the robotics unit with its personal current operations.
“Whereas [layoff] selections like these are all the time troublesome, we made them following an intensive post-close evaluation of our operations to make sure we’re finest positioned for the longer term with an efficient construction to proceed executing our long-term progress technique,” the corporate mentioned in a press release. “We admire the contributions of the impacted workers and are dedicated to treating each worker respectfully throughout this transformation.”
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