"America's largest employer" will not add staff in the next three years! Walmart CEO admits: AI will change all jobs

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Walmart, the largest private employer in the United States, is facing workforce transformation challenges brought by AI. Company executives have made it clear that AI technology will eliminate some jobs and reshape the entire workforce, marking a significant shift in how large enterprises view AI's impact on employment.

On September 26, it was reported that Walmart CEO Doug McMillon gave one of the most direct assessments yet by a major company CEO regarding AI’s impact on employment. He said:

"AI will change every job, that is very clear. Perhaps there are jobs in the world that AI won’t change, but I can’t think of any."

As a coping strategy, Walmart plans to keep its global workforce at around 2.1 million employees over the next three years. The company’s Chief People Officer Donna Morris stated that although the total employee count will remain stable, the composition of job roles will undergo significant changes.

This statement reflects a rapid shift in how corporate leaders discuss the human costs of AI technology. Companies including Ford, JPMorgan Chase, and Amazon have already begun directly predicting AI-related layoffs and urging other employers to prepare their workforce for changes.

A Comprehensive Look at AI’s Impact on Jobs

According to reports, Walmart executives have started to examine the impact of AI on their workforce at nearly every high-level planning meeting. Company leadership is tracking which job types will decrease, increase, or remain stable to assess where additional training and preparation are necessary.

At a staff meeting at Walmart’s Bentonville headquarters this week, McMillon stated: "Our goal is to create opportunities for everyone, so all can successfully transition to the new era."

Walmart has already built chatbots—what the company calls “agents”—for customers, suppliers, and employees. It is also relying more heavily on AI to track supply chain and product trends.

Some changes have already sent ripples through the workforce. In recent years, with the help of AI-related technology, Walmart has automated many of its warehouses, resulting in some job cuts.

Meanwhile, new jobs are also being created. For example, last month Walmart created the position of “agent builder”—dedicated to building AI tools to assist store staff.

The company expects to add personnel in areas such as home delivery and high-contact customer service positions like bakeries. In recent years, Walmart has also increased positions for onsite maintenance technicians and truck drivers.

McMillon pointed out that the pace of industry-wide change will be gradual. For example, customer service tasks at call centers and online chat functions will soon become more AI-dependent, while other tasks will not.

He also mentioned that although the company has recently been pitched on humanoid robot employees, "until we’re serving humanoid robots and they have spending power, we are serving humans."

Industry-wide Embrace of AI Transformation

Elsewhere in the business world, executives are pushing companies to fully embrace AI. Some companies have created internal “heat maps” to identify which roles or tasks may be automated by AI, while others encourage employees to propose new projects.

Agricultural company Syngenta has already identified “lighthouse” projects in areas such as R&D and supply chain functions that are suitable for AI reform.

Recently, media reports indicate that warnings about AI-related layoffs have increased in recent months.

Julie Sweet, CEO of global IT consulting giant Accenture, told investors Thursday that the company is "phasing out" employees who cannot be retrained for the AI era.

This summer, Ford CEO Jim Farley said:

"Artificial intelligence will replace half of America's white-collar workers."

OpenAI Chief Economist Ronnie Chatterji said at the Bentonville meeting:

"AI is just beginning to send ripples through the job market. I think within 18 to 36 months, you will see a bigger impact."

Despite anxieties among employees and leaders, many executives say the US labor market remains healthy, and they do not anticipate AI causing mass unemployment.

Joe Baratta, Global Head of Private Equity at Blackstone, said at the Bentonville meeting:

"I think the history of technological innovation shows that people have reskilled themselves and found productive employment in other parts of the economy."

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