Walmart warns AI will reshape every job, pledges to retrain workers as roles evolve

[Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Apr 30, 2023. A Walmart store during a sunny day]
Marvin Samuel Tolentino Pineda/iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Walmart (NYSE:WMT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WMT]), the nation’s biggest private employer, is preparing for sweeping workforce changes driven by artificial intelligence. Chief Executive Doug McMillon said that AI will alter “virtually every job,” acknowledging that some roles will disappear while new ones are created, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

Executives are mapping out which positions may shrink expand, or remain steady to guide retraining efforts.

“Our goal is to create the opportunity for everybody to make it to the other side,” McMillon said at a workforce conference in Bentonville, Arkansas.

For now, the retailer expects its global head count of roughly 2.1 million employees to stay flat over the next three years, even as revenue grows. But the makeup of those jobs will shift, said Chief People Officer Donna Morris.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WMT]) already has rolled out AI-powered chatbots for customers, suppliers and staff, and created a new “agent builder” role to design such tools. While automation has cut some warehouse jobs, the company has added workers in delivery, in-store maintenance, and trucking. McMillon emphasized that people will continue to serve customers directly, rejecting the idea of humanoid robots in stores.

The conversation reflects a broader corporate reckoning with AI’s impact on employment. Leaders at companies from Ford (F [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/F]) to J.P. Morgan (JPM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JPM]) have forecast significant job losses, while others, including Accenture (ACN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ACN]) and Blackstone (BX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BX]), are stressing retraining and resilience. OpenAI economist Ronnie Chatterji told the conference that AI’s effects will accelerate in the next 18 to 36 months.

Despite anxiety, some executives argue the labor market can absorb the disruption. Blackstone’s (BX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BX]) Joe Baratta noted that past technological shifts have ultimately created new opportunities, the Journal reported.

MORE ON WALMART

* Walmart Inc. (WMT) Presents At Piper Sandler 4th Annual Growth Frontiers Conference Transcript [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4822247-walmart-inc-wmt-presents-at-piper-sandler-4th-annual-growth-frontiers-conference-transcript]
* Walmart Inc. (WMT) Presents At Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference 2025 Transcript [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4821177-walmart-inc-wmt-presents-at-goldman-sachs-communacopia-technology-conference-2025-transcript]
* Walmart: Defensive, Expensive, And Trapped In A Range [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4820788-walmart-defensive-expensive-trapped-in-a-range]
* SA Graphics: Here are the companies with the most H-1B visas approved this year [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4498800-sa-graphics-here-are-the-companies-with-the-most-h-1b-visas-approved-this-year]
* Walmart teams with Spain's LALIGA soccer team, expanding on MLS partnership [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4498779-walmart-teams-with-spains-laliga-soccer-team-expanding-on-mls-partnership]