"Walmart targets 65% automation in stores by 2026, lays off 2,000 workers."

Walmart plans to have about 65% of its stores serviced by automation by the end of its fiscal year 2026, as it increasingly uses its huge stores to handle online-order deliveries and invests heavily in automation to speed up order processing at its e-commerce fulfillment facilities. The move is expected to reduce the need for lower-paid roles, but the company anticipates creating new roles that require less physical labor but have a higher rate of pay. Walmart has invested billions of dollars in technology for its online order facilities, including buying grocery robotics company Alert Innovation and partnering with companies such as Knapp to help cut the number of steps it takes for employees to process e-commerce orders down to five from 12.