A large chain store, direct message to its 2,100,000 employees about artificial intelligence. The ad that defies the trend
The largest US retailer has assured its 2.1 million employees that the company's “engine” in the future will be artificial intelligence, and technology will improve your jobs, not eliminate them, according to Fortune magazine.
As more and more companies cut jobs, AI agents invade corporate offices and robots walk into factories, US giant Walmart has told employees that artificial intelligence will not take their jobs.
The largest private employer in the United States argued at a meeting at the company's headquarters in Arkansas that the expansion of the use of artificial intelligence will not lead to mass layoffs, but to improve the work of its 2.1 million employees.
The retailer announced that it will integrate AI into a wide range of activities, from designing clothes to coordinating its fleet of trucks. In addition, US employees have the opportunity to obtain certification in the use of technologies developed by Sam Altman's company, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.
Walmart's announcement comes as many tech companies have cut jobs or downsized as they invest in automation and artificial intelligence.
Free AI courses
Bucking that trend, the $967 billion company argues that technology should be used to enhance employee productivity and skills, not replace them.
Executives present at the event insisted on creating a future in which technology will improve the work of employees and not reduce the number of employees, according to the Financial Times.
The company has already launched free AI training programs for its approximately 1.6 million employees in the US and Canada in partnership with Google. The courses include notions about research, communication and the development of applications based on artificial intelligence.
“Technology will power our future, but employees will drive it,” said Donna Morris, Walmart's chief human resources officer.
The company says the goal is for artificial intelligence to become a tool to help workers advance professionally in an increasingly digitized economy, not a threat to jobs.
Higher wages for those who know how to use AI
Earlier this year, Morris told Fortune that careful AI workforce implementation is needed.
A report by Google and Ipsos found that employees who have a good command of these tools are 4.5 times more likely to receive higher salaries than those who are not familiar with digital technology.
“We as large employers should be actively involved in the effort to prepare our employees — in our case, our associates — for an AI-driven, automated, or digitized world,” Morris told Fortune last year, adding that it's “unfortunate” that businesses are using AI to downsize rather than prepare them for the future.
There are also some reasons behind reskilling in the AI age. Those who build their skills in artificial intelligence may be better prepared to hold management positions in stores, which in some cases reach an annual salary of up to $620,000.
