No Role is Safe From AI’s Impact, Warns Walmart CEO
“It’s very clear that AI is going to change literally every job,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said.
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Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has warned workers across industries to be prepared to adapt to the rise of artificial intelligence in the workplace. As the leader of America’s largest private employer, with 2.1 million workers globally, McMillon believes no role will remain untouched by AI.
“It’s very clear that AI is going to change literally every job,” McMillon told The Wall Street Journal. “Maybe there’s a job in the world that AI won’t change, but I haven’t thought of it.”
McMillon joins a growing list of CEOs, including Amazon’s Andy Jassy and Ford’s Jim Farley, who have signaled workforce reductions or restructuring as AI becomes more deeply embedded in business operations. According to the publication, Walmart plans to freeze its global headcount for the next three years while still projecting revenue growth powered by wider adoption of AI technologies.
The company expects white-collar office jobs to be impacted first, as AI-powered chatbots and digital tools take over tasks ranging from customer service to supply chain tracking. However, McMillon stresses that frontline employees in stores and warehouses will also see significant changes.
“I think no one knows how this is going to play out exactly,” he told the Associated Press in a separate interview this week, repeating his belief that “basically, every job gets changed.”
McMillon’s advice to employees is to adapt quickly by embracing AI tools in their daily work. “I think the best way to think about it is getting ‘plussed up,’” he told the AP. “‘How can I lean in the role that I have, regardless what that role is, to adopt new tools, leverage them and make things better than they would’ve otherwise been?’”
Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman reinforced that perspective in an August interview with CNBC, saying soft skills like communication and critical thinking are “just as important, if not more important [in the future].”
McMillon echoed that view, emphasizing that Walmart’s people-centric business still relies on human connection. “Until we’re serving humanoid robots and they have the ability to spend money, we’re serving people,” he told the Journal. “We are going to put people in front of people.”
For McMillon, the most valuable workers will be those who combine technical know-how with human skills. He highlighted Walmart store managers as examples, since they balance communication, leadership, and the use of AI systems to monitor sales and supply chain data.
“I think the skills that we have as human beings are valuable,” McMillon said. “They always have been, and that’ll be even more true in the future.”
