Walmart Inc said on Wednesday it was expecting inflation to add sustained pressure to its business this year, and that it was planning to slow the pace of hiring as it uses more automation amid a tight labour market.
The world’s biggest retailer said on Tuesday that about 65 per cent of its stores were expected to employ some form of automation by the end of its fiscal year 2026, just days after revealing plans to lay off more than 2,000 people at facilities that fulfill online orders.
It was not immediately clear if this move would lead to more layoffs at the country’s biggest private employer, with about 1.7 million U.S. workers and another 60,000 abroad. The company said the moves would reduce the need for lower-paid roles.
“As the changes are implemented across the business, one of the outcomes is roles that require less physical labor but have a higher rate of pay,” the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer said in a filing.
“Over time, the company anticipates increased throughput per person, due to the automation while maintaining or even increasing its number of associates as new roles are created,” it added.
The company, which has more than 5,000 U.S. stores, also maintained its full-year forecast.
“We’re assuming that this year is going to be somewhat anomalous … Still feeling the effects of higher prices,” Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said at the company’s investor meeting.
Rainey expects inflation at about three per cent by the end of the year.
(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru and Siddharth Cavale in New York; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
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