Walmart plans to increasingly rely on automation in its stores over the coming years, but this will not reduce the size of the company’s workforce, according to statements made by company leaders during an investor event this week.
The retail giant, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, recently announced that by the end of fiscal year 2026, 65% of its stores will be “serviced by automation.” Walmart operates over 4,700 stores across the US and employs approximately 1.6 million people nationwide.
A key area of investment for Walmart is in market fulfillment centers (MFCs). These automated fulfillment centers are either built within or added to existing stores.
Walmart tested this concept at a store in Salem, New Jersey, in 2019, using automated robot technology from Alert Innovation, a robotics company Walmart acquired in October 2022.
Since then, Walmart has established MFCs at various locations, including in Jacksonville, Florida, and Dallas, Texas. These include “manual MFCs,” where associates pick items for online orders from a separate area, distinct from the sales floor.
While the exact number of MFCs nationwide has not been disclosed by Walmart, Tom Ward, who was then Walmart’s senior vice president of customer product, indicated in January 2021 that the company planned to expand the model.
“Instead of an associate walking the store to fulfill an order from our shelves, automated bots retrieve the items from within the fulfillment center,” Ward stated at the time.
“The items are then transported to a picking workstation, where the order can be assembled quickly.”
Despite the rise in automation, Walmart leaders emphasize that the company will still require at least the same number of workers to assist in stores.
John Furner, Walmart US president and CEO, told investors that automation “helps” employees by reducing manual labor.
“Over time, we believe we’ll maintain or even increase the number of associates and expand the business,” Furner said. “New roles will emerge that are less manual, better suited to serving customers, and offer higher pay.”
This announcement comes as Walmart strengthens its focus on e-commerce, which experienced a 97% year-over-year growth in the first full quarter of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Although e-commerce growth has slowed, with a 17% increase in sales in the most recent quarter, Walmart continues to invest in this area.
However, Walmart is also laying off workers at fulfillment centers nationwide. According to Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) filings, the retailer is cutting more than 2,000 jobs at e-commerce warehouses in Texas, California, Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
“We recently adjusted staffing levels at our fulfillment centers in select markets to better prepare for the future needs of customers,” Walmart told in March.
“This decision was not made lightly, and we are working closely with affected associates to help them look into career options at other Walmart locations.”
