CarMax Cuts About 145 Corporate Jobs, Including Roughly 60 in Richmond Area

CarMax has cut about 145 corporate jobs in its latest restructuring, including roughly 60 positions in the Richmond area, marking at least the second sizable local reduction in 2026 for the Goochland-based used-car retailer and deepening uncertainty for one of Central Virginia’s signature Fortune 500 employers.

A company spokeswoman confirmed the layoffs to Richmond BizSense, saying the move aims to create a leaner corporate team that can move faster, align better across groups, and stay competitive. Affected employees were almost entirely salaried, and departments hit included technology, human resources, product, accounting, and marketing. About 60 of those cut companywide worked in technology.

The reductions reached corporate offices in Richmond, Dallas, and Atlanta, plus Edmunds, CarMax’s auto-research subsidiary in California. Local employees were notified on a Friday with immediate effect; pay continues through early October, with severance and outplacement support offered. CarMax said roughly 70 corporate roles remain open and that impacted associates can apply for internal positions alongside field openings.

The timing matters. Keith Barr took over as CEO in mid-March after Bill Nash was fired in 2025 amid declining sales and stock pressure. Barr’s hospitality-industry background signaled a cultural reset; the new cuts arrive about six months into that tenure and follow more than 1,000 jobs eliminated across several rounds since 2024. Earlier this year, CarMax shed 230 corporate employees, 113 of them in the Richmond area.

Financially, the company’s most recent quarter showed mixed signals. Net sales and operating revenues reached about $8 billion, up 6.2 percent year over year, while net income fell to $186 million from $210 million a year earlier. Shares have nonetheless climbed sharply in 2026, illustrating how investors can reward cost discipline even when local payrolls shrink.

CarMax still employs about 28,000 people nationwide and just under 2,000 in the Richmond region, with a footprint that includes the West Creek headquarters campus in Goochland, stores in Short Pump and Midlothian, the Midtown Sauer Center office, and a New Kent auction center. That concentration means corporate churn ripples through suburban office markets, contractors, and household spending far beyond the company’s own campuses.

Technology’s outsized share of the cuts underscores how retailers are automating appraisal, pricing, and online retail workflows that once required larger in-house product and engineering teams. Competitors such as Carvana have pushed digital-first models; CarMax’s no-haggle brand remains distinctive, but leadership clearly believes a thinner corporate layer is part of staying nimble.

For metro Richmond, the story is familiar: headquarters prestige without guaranteed headcount growth. Local economic developers have long marketed CarMax as proof the region can host national retailers. Repeated layoff waves since 2024 complicate that narrative even if store operations and auction volume continue.

Workers and local officials will watch whether the Midtown office footprint contracts when leases renew, and whether West Creek absorbs remaining corporate functions. Community debate after the announcement ranged from sales-model strategy to immigration and hiring practices; the company itself framed the decision strictly as strategic alignment and cost structure.

CarMax’s statement emphasized gratitude for departing associates and a commitment to support their next steps. Severance terms and the early-October pay-through date offer a short runway, but dozens of Richmond-area households now face a tight market for corporate technology and operations talent.

State and regional workforce agencies may see increased counseling demand from displaced specialists whose skills transfer to other Fortune 500 and mid-market employers along the I-64 corridor. Whether those transitions stay in Virginia will help determine how lasting the economic hit is.

All Virginia News will monitor subsequent disclosures, any additional CarMax restructuring, and local labor-market indicators. A leaner CarMax may please shareholders; for Central Virginia, the measure of success is whether the company’s next chapter still anchors high-quality jobs in the communities that helped build the brand.