Recently, Walmart announced plans to automate its supply chain. With this plan, about 65% of its stores will be supplied by automation by the end of 2026. This news comes as Walmart announced earlier this month plans to lay off more than 2,000 people at facilities that fulfill online orders, investing.com reported
At this time, it is clear if this decision would lead to even more layoffs at Walmart on top of the already announced layoffs. The company claims it’s moving to reduce the need for lower-paid roles by using automation.
“As the changes are implemented across the business, one of the outcomes is roles that require less physical labor but have a higher rate of pay,” Walmart said in its filing.
“Over time, the company anticipates increased throughput per person due to the automation while maintaining or even increasing its number of associates as new roles are created,” it added.
According to this plan, about 55% of packages that Walmart processes through their fulfillment centers will be handled by automation by January 2026. This will help Walmart cut costs on average by about 20%. This new push to automate the process will reduce the need for in-person workers.
Walmart hopes to use some of the staff that will be replaced by automation to fill other vacant roles within the company. Walmart like many companies has been struggling to fill job openings. Using automation to help reduce the need for staff is one solution for this problem.