Walmart Is Moving To Fully Automated Stores And I’m Not Sure How To Feel About That

I have some really bad news for all of you who despise the self-checkouts at Walmart.

Personally, I love the self-checkouts. It’s less people-y.

But, I get the argument that you don’t get paid to work at Walmart.

Love it or hate it, Walmart has announced some pretty important news on the self-checkout front.

According to Yahoo, Walmart has plans to be fully automated in 65% of their stores by 2026.

What does this mean for you?

Well, welcome to Walmart. You officially work there — for free.

Now, you might be thinking, “What is this going to do for layoffs of employees who rely on Walmart for their income?”

Yeah. That would be a problem.

I really don’t have any good news for you in regards to employee layoffs at Walmart.

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.

Walmart

I mean, Walmart already had “plans to lay off more than 2,000 people at facilities that fulfill online orders.”

This move to automation means that Walmart isn’t going to need employees to run registers and bag up your groceries.

This increased efficiency will not only support better inventory management, but it will also support Walmart’s rapidly growing e-commerce business.

Ben Bienvenu, Stephens Inc. Analyst

It’s happening. The robots are taking over, right?!?

What do YOU think about Walmart going to automated stores?