Walmart CEO quietly warns its 2 million workers about AI’s impact: ‘Every job will change’

McMillon did not say that there were going to be layoffs, but that has been the theme at other places.

PUBLISHED 5 HOURS AGO

Representative image of a Wal-Mart greeter (Image source: Getty Images/Photo by J.D. Pooley)

Millions of jobs are set to be affected by artificial intelligence, and while many might be replaced by smart tools, others will have to work with them. Like every major corporation, employees at Walmart will also have to adapt to changing times. The CEO of Walmart did not say that he was going to lay off a portion of his 2.1 million global workforce, but he believed that changes were afoot thanks to AI.

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo By Tim Boyle — Image of a Walmart employee in front of a store. (Image Source: Getty Images | Photo By Tim Boyle)

“Every job we’ve got is going to change in some way — whether it’s getting the shopping carts off the parking lot, or the way our technologists work, or certainly the way leadership roles change,” CEO Doug McMillon said at a Harvard Business Review event, according to a report in the Financial Express. Now, Walmart has 2.1 million employees globally, and 1.6 million of them work in the United States of America.

McMillon’s comments come just a couple of weeks after Walmart announced a collaboration with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. According to a report in The Independent, this collaboration will allow customers to browse and purchase products through ChatGPT. It's safe to say that this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how AI can impact the supermarket chain’s functioning in the upcoming years. The CEO did, however, mention that employees will be given all the assistance needed to adapt to a rapidly changing work environment equipped with AI.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon (Image Source: Getty Images | Photos By Ethan Miller)

"What we want to do is equip everybody to be able to make the most of the new tools that are available, learn, adapt, add value, drive growth — and still be a really large employer years from now," he added. This means that employees will have to go through the arduous task of understanding and learning how to use AI while working full-time, just to be able to keep that job.

McMillon’s comments may be cause for concern for employees, especially since they have come just a few weeks after two of the biggest companies in the US announced significant layoffs because of automation. In late October, Amazon announced that it was going to cut 14,000 corporate jobs, and Target announced that it would slash 1,800 roles. This was the latter’s biggest round of layoffs in 10 years.

Representative Image of Jaime Vado fixing a display in the isle at a Walmart store | Getty Images | Photo by Joe Raedle — An employee fixing a display in the isle at a Walmart store (Image source: Getty Images | Photo by Joe Raedle)

Despite these troubling developments, Walmart spokesperson Jimmy Carter has ensured that no employee needs to worry about losing their jobs to AI, at least in the next three years. “Over the next three years, we expect headcount to remain flat as roles evolve. That’s why we’re providing associates with AI training and pathways to careers that are in high demand, both today and in the future,” he said.