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<\/p>\n\u2018No sugarcoating things\u2019 says CEO Doug McMillon.<\/p>\n
No Sugarcoating from Walmart CEO Doug McMillon<\/p>\n
The Wall Street Journal reports Walmart CEO Issues Wake-Up Call<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very clear that AI is going to change literally every job,\u201d Chief Executive Doug McMillon said this week in one of the most pointed assessments to date from a big-company CEO on AI\u2019s likely impact on employment.<\/p>\n His remarks reflect a rapid shift from just months ago in how business leaders discuss the potential human cost of the technology. Companies including Ford, JPMorgan Chase and Amazon have bluntly predicted job losses associated with AI. Some have advised other employers to prepare their workforces for change.<\/p>\n Some jobs and tasks at the retail juggernaut will be eliminated, while others will be created, McMillon said this week at Walmart\u2019s Bentonville headquarters during a workforce conference with executives from other companies. \u201cMaybe there\u2019s a job in the world that AI won\u2019t change, but I haven\u2019t thought of it.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, Walmart executives say the transformation means the size of its global workforce will stay roughly flat even as its revenue climbs. It plans to maintain its head count of around 2.1 million global workers over the next three years, but the mix of those jobs will change significantly, said Donna Morris, Walmart\u2019s chief people officer. What the composition will look like remains murky.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to do our homework, and so we don\u2019t have those answers,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n Already Walmart has built chat bots, which it calls \u201cagents,\u201d for customers, suppliers and workers. It is also tracking an expanding share of its supply chain and product trends with AI. In July, Walmart hired an executive from Instacart, Daniel Danker, to oversee those ambitions. Danker reports to McMillon. Part of his role includes working with Morris to determine how Walmart\u2019s workforce should shift.<\/p>\n \u2018Agent builders\u2019 vs. humanoid robots<\/p>\n Some changes are already rippling across the workforce. In recent years Walmart has automated many of its warehouses with the help of AI-related technology, triggering some job cuts, executives said. Walmart is also looking to automate some back-of-store tasks.<\/p>\n The drumbeat of warnings about AI-related job cuts has increased in recent months. Accenture CEO Julie Sweet told investors Thursday that the firm is \u201cexiting\u201d employees who can\u2019t be retrained for the AI age. Meanwhile, it will continue to hire people who are generative AI-fluent and retrain existing workers to serve clients in consulting and other divisions. \u201cArtificial intelligence is going to replace literally half of all white-collar workers in the U.S.,\u201d Ford Motor Chief Executive Jim Farley said this summer.<\/p>\n \u2018Embrace the moment\u2019<\/p>\n Omri Yoffe, CEO of Vi, a roughly 115-person AI company that focuses on healthcare, recently told employees they need to think of the current moment in almost Darwinian terms. Those who fail to evolve, learn new skills and create higher-value roles for themselves might be left behind.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m telling them, \u2018Guys, you are going to stay here, but you need to be the change agent. You need to evolve yourself,\u2019 \u201d Yoffe said. \u201cYou\u2019re smart enough to work here, but you\u2019re not going to do the same job in two years. Embrace the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Posts<\/p>\n August 24, 2025: Elon Musk Backs Universal High Income Fearing AI Will Take Every Job<\/a><\/p>\n Musk predicts employment will become obsolete.<\/p>\n August 29, 2025: How Much Did AI Spending Boost 2025 First-Half GDP?<\/a><\/p>\n AI spending on computers and software is soaring.<\/p>\n