US supermarket giant Walmart has said that it expects around 65 per cent of its in-store services to be automated by the end of its 2026 fiscal year.

The announcement was made at the company’s investor meeting, with the company arguing that investing heavily in automation would allow it to speed up order processing at its e-commerce fulfilment facilities.

In addition to investing in automation for in-store services, the company aims to move around 55 per cent of its packages to be processed through automated facilities by January 2026. It said that this move would improve unit cost averages by about 20 per cent.

Walmart, which operates more than 5,000 U.S. stores, did not immediately respond to questions about whether the moves will result in any near-term layoffs.

Speaking in February, Walmart CEO Doug McMilon praised the company’s efforts in driving automation, and said that it would increase investments in automation technology as part of a wider $15 billion capital spending budget.

The news came alongside confirmation that Walmart plans to lay off more than 2,000 staff at online fulfilment centres. Walmart, the largest private employer in the US with over 1.7 million domestic staff, said that the shift to automation would reduce the need for lower-paid roles

In a filing, the company said: "As the changes are implemented across the business, one of the outcomes is roles that require less physical labour but have a higher rate of pay. Over time, the company anticipates increased throughput per person, due to the automation while maintaining or even increasing its number of associates as new roles are created.”

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