"And if Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner's instincts are right, that number will hold steady in the coming years, despite all the talk of how the growing use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) might decimate jobs across the economy. "When we look out two years, three years, five years, where I think we'll be is we'll have roughly the same number of people we have today,""
"Last year, Walmart U.S.'s revenue rose 4.7% to $462.42 billion as it took share from rivals like Target and Kroger. And last month, the retailer said it now expected U.S. sales growth of as much as 4.75% for the full fiscal year underway on the strength of a blistering first quarter. Concretely, though the same headcount at a higher sales line that means many jobs will effectively disappear. But, Furner says, many old roles will be replaced by news ones within Walmart."
"He cited as an example a general manager called Maurice in Brooksville, Florida. This employee spent two decades or so loading trucks, but now, Furner said, he's leading a team of bot techs and his work including circuit boards, and changing batteries out. "We're extending people's career and those jobs pay better. The attrition rates are really low," Furner said at the conference."
Walmart employs about 1.6 million people in the U.S. and expects to maintain a similar headcount in the coming years while expanding its business. Rising use of A.I. is intended to raise per-employee productivity rather than reduce overall employment. U.S. revenue rose 4.7% to $462.42 billion, and U.S. sales growth is now expected up to 4.75% for the fiscal year. Automation will eliminate some legacy roles, but many positions will be replaced by new technical roles. One general manager transitioned from loading trucks to leading bot technicians handling circuit boards and battery replacement. Walmart launched an OpenAI certification program and uses agents to generate detailed shift task lists, saving 30–45 minutes daily.
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