TLDR: Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner announced that the retail giant plans to maintain a stable U.S. workforce over the next five years, even as artificial intelligence is poised to fundamentally alter ‘literally every job.’ The company aims to leverage AI to shift employee focus to higher-value tasks, despite recent job cuts in some sectors.
BENTONVILLE, AR – Walmart, the largest private employer in the United States, is committed to maintaining a steady U.S. headcount for the foreseeable future, even as artificial intelligence reshapes the landscape of work. This assurance comes from Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner, who spoke at a recent Fortune event, emphasizing the company’s strategy to navigate the transformative impact of AI.
Furner stated, “When we look out two years, three years, five years, where I think we’ll be is we’ll have roughly the same number of people we have today.” This outlook provides a measure of stability for Walmart’s 1.6 million U.S. employees amidst widespread concerns about AI-driven job displacement across various industries.
The retail executive acknowledged the profound changes AI will bring, echoing sentiments from other business leaders. “It’s very clear that AI is going to change literally every job,” Furner remarked. He elaborated that the goal is to empower employees by offloading repetitive or redundant tasks to technology, thereby allowing human workers to concentrate on activities that generate higher value for the company and its customers. “What we’re trying to do, and I think we’re very confident we can do, is get people’s time focused back on the items and the issues that are the highest value add for them and the things that are more repetitive or redundant might be another word. Let technology enable them so that they can be even more productive and we can serve more customers effectively.”
While the company projects overall headcount stability, Walmart has already begun a process of job restructuring. In May, approximately 1,500 positions were eliminated, primarily within its technology, advertising, and U.S. e-commerce fulfillment teams. However, Furner highlighted that AI is simultaneously creating new types of roles. He cited an example of a general manager in Brooksville, Florida, who began their career loading trucks two decades ago and now leads a team focused on robot technology, including managing circuit boards and battery changes.
Walmart’s financial performance remains robust, providing a stable foundation for these strategic workforce adjustments. The company’s U.S. revenue saw a 4.7% increase last year, with similar growth anticipated for the current fiscal year. This growth, coupled with a focus on core retail, is expected to enable the business to expand without necessarily increasing its overall workforce size.
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The broader corporate world is also rapidly embracing AI. A May IBM study indicated that CEOs of global companies expect their AI investments to more than double within two years, with 61% actively deploying AI agents at scale. Walmart’s approach reflects this trend, aiming to integrate AI as a tool for enhanced productivity and efficiency, rather than solely for workforce reduction.
