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Walmart’s multibillion-dollar push to replace workers with robots hits snags on dog food, cardboard boxes: report
New York Post • • business
Key Points:
- Walmart's effort to replace human warehouse workers with robots is facing challenges, as the robots struggle with tasks like handling oversized items such as dog food, Thanksgiving turkeys, and cardboard boxes.
- The company plans to replace its long-used cardboard boxes with smaller, taped boxes to better suit robotic handling, a change that will increase costs and alter workers' routines.
- Despite automation handling about 80% of inventory movement at Walmart's nearly fully automated Brooksville, Florida warehouse, robots still struggle with 20% of items and frequently experience technical issues requiring maintenance.
- Automation has significantly increased operational costs, with monthly electric bills at automated grocery facilities rising from $250,000 to $800,000 or more, though Walmart expects these expenses to peak soon and decline.
- Walmart anticipates that automation will eventually reduce labor costs and improve inventory processing speed but acknowledges the continued need for human workers for certain tasks and maintenance, with no planned layoffs due to high job turnover.
