Retail giant Walmart shares plans to invest in supply chain automation to boost profits, drive revenue growth, improve operating margins and improve returns。Its shares have recently rebounded to nearly $150.。

Specifically, at the investor conference, Walmart said that by the end of fiscal year 2026, it aims to have 65% of its stores through automated services and about 55% of its fulfillment center capacity transferred through automated facilities.。

Walmart's chief financial officer, John David Rainey, weighed in on the plans, saying automation would improve "the way merchandise gets to stores."。As for the impact on profits, he said, "Our 4% compound growth target means that over the next five years, we will increase sales by more than $130 billion from the current $600 billion."。"

As Walmart seeks to compete with Amazon (AMZN), known for its fast delivery, the retail giant believes its automated distribution centers could set a new precedent。

At the meeting, Walmart CEO John Furner also said he believes these new fulfillment centers "can double the number of orders we complete in a single day, meaning packages are arriving at customers' doorsteps faster than ever before."。"

It follows recent layoffs at five e-commerce warehouses in the United States, affecting more than 2,000 jobs.。

Walmart is trying to prove that this major investment in automation will actually lead to more, better-paying jobs and nearly flat its workforce.。

Furner says automation will reduce manual labor。"Over time, we will have the same number of employees, maybe even more, but we will have a bigger business, they will become new roles, these roles will emerge, more technical... they will pay more," he said.。

CFRA analyst Arun Sundaram (who holds a buy rating on the stock) said Walmart may try to shift the layoffs in its favor。

"These lower-level jobs will be cut, but they will reallocate these employees to other jobs that require less manual labor."。They also want to increase staff retention, as there will now be less hard work, less manual labor and more high-paying jobs to choose from。"

At the same time, D.a.Davidson senior research analyst Michael Baker said labour costs remained a pressure point for the retail giant, but "there is less pressure this year than last year."。"

In response, Furner said that in the past five years, its hourly wage has increased by about 30%。At the end of January, Walmart announced plans to raise its average hourly wage to 17..Over $50, currently $14 to $19 per hour。