Walmart Inc. (WMT) said that it aims to automate 65 percent of its stores, on Tuesday. The big box retailer mentioned the end of fiscal year 2026 as the targeted date for its stores to have automated services. The announcement was made as its annual investor meeting takes place in Tampa, Florida.
A few days ago, Walmart announced that it was laying off thousands of staff who worked at some of its facilities that fulfill the orders received by the retailer online. The Tuesday announcement the increased use of automation in these facilities and its heavy investments to increase the speed of processing with the help of automation.
Reuters reported that although there has been no mention of an increase in layoffs, the company spoke of new roles being created while older ones that require more physical labor and were lower paid were expected to be replaced by automation.
Walmart said that it expects roughly 55 percent of its packages that are processed through fulfillment centers of the retailer to move through automated facilities within three years. As a recent of this automated service the company expects to improve unit cost averages by about 20 percent by January 2026.
The outlet also said that Walmart has spent billions of dollars to upgrade its technology. It has acquired a grocery robotics company called Alert Innovation to improve its operations in its online facilities. It has also partnered with Knapp, a company that has helped to trim the number of steps taken by employees for processing e-commerce orders. By streamlining its process, the number of steps has been reduced from 12 and are at five.
Walmart also said that it expected its adjusted earnings per share to be $5.90 to $6.05 for the full fiscal year 2024. The year will end in January. It anticipates an increase of 2.5 percent to 3 percent in net sales, in constant currency. It expects a slightly lower increase of 2 percent to 2.5 percent in US same-store sales, not including fuel.
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