The Workforce AI Index · Consumer Defensive
Dollar General (DG)
Small-format stores read by description. Read October 1, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending 2026-01-30, filed 2026-03-20. Ranked 5 of the 16 Consumer Defensive companies read so far, by the share within reach now: the sector.
The filing states one total and lists the kinds of employees without counts, so the store and distribution patterns follow the description.
The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
What follows from the reading
Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 21% now, 24% at the end of 2027, 25% at the end of 2028, 25% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 25% desk work, 19% people work and 56% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 75% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 12% becomes checking a model's work and 13% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
194,000 employees as of 2026-02-27 (stated). The filing does not state a count by country; it names international offices beside its stores, distribution centers, private fleet and store support center.
The filing: “As of February 27, 2026, we employed approximately 194,000 full-time and part-time employees, including divisional and regional managers, district managers, store managers, other store employees, and distribution center, fleet and administrative employees.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| General Merchandise Retailers | 90% | By (c): the filing lists store employees first among the kinds it employs and describes a chain of small-format general merchandise stores, with no headcount by kind, so the store share is read from the description. |
| Warehousing and Storage | 10% | By (c): distribution center and private fleet employees are named without a count, so a tenth of the workforce is read into the warehousing pattern by description, the fleet folded in for lack of a count. |
What the filing says about the workforce: About 194,000 full-time and part-time employees as of February 27, 2026, across stores, distribution centers, the private fleet, the store support center and international offices.
Companies read with the same leading pattern
Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also General Merchandise Retailers, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Walmart (WMT, 2,100,000 employees)21% now, 25% by 2028
- Target (TGT, 415,000 employees)21% now, 25% by 2028
- Costco (COST, 341,000 employees)21% now, 25% by 2028
- Dollar Tree (DLTR, 153,032 employees)21% now, 25% by 2028
- Macy's, Inc. (M, 90,134 employees)22% now, 25% by 2028
What the filing says about AI
5 sentences in the filing name AI. AI appears in the risk factors, as risks in the continued integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning within its systems and as a policy area that may affect it; the human capital section does not mention it.
- “Furthermore, if our competitors or third parties incorporate artificial intelligence into their businesses more quickly or more successfully than us, it could impair our ability to compete effectively and adversely affect our results of operations, or if our use of artificial intelligence is inaccurate or ineffective, our competitive position could be adversely affected. 12 Table of Contents Co...”
- “There are also risks associated with our continued integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning within our technology systems (for example, if the types of information that applications with embedded artificial intelligence assist in producing are or are alleged to be deficient, inaccurate, or biased, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be adversely a...”
- “Changes related to immigration, artificial intelligence, and workforce policies and practices, may also impact us.”
- “In connection with its oversight of this program, our Audit Committee discusses with management the processes by which risk assessment and risk management are undertaken and our most significant financial and other risk exposures, including without limitation those relating to information systems, information security, data privacy, artificial intelligence, business continuity and disaster reco...”
- “This education has included: an overview of Company-specific cyber-related risks considerations; an overview of various artificial intelligence considerations, including those related to risk management, governance and ethics, and 23 Table of Contents workforce and culture; updates on the state of cybersecurity regulation; updates on the evolving retail landscape's impact on cyber risk to retai...”
Headcount by filing year
As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.
| Period | Employees | Filed | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-30 | 194,000 | 2026-03-20 | 10-K |
| 2025-01-31 | 194,200 | 2025-03-21 | 10-K |
| 2024-02-02 | 185,800 | 2024-03-25 | 10-K |
| 2023-02-03 | 170,000 | 2023-03-24 | 10-K |
| 2022-01-28 | 163,000 | 2022-03-18 | 10-K |
| 2021-01-29 | 158,000 | 2021-03-19 | 10-K |
| 2020-01-31 | 143,000 | 2020-03-19 | 10-K |
| 2019-02-01 | 135,000 | 2019-03-22 | 10-K |
| 2018-02-02 | 129,000 | 2018-03-23 | 10-K |
| 2017-02-03 | 121,000 | 2017-03-24 | 10-K |
| 2016-01-29 | 113,400 | 2016-03-22 | 10-K |
| 2015-01-30 | 105,500 | 2015-03-20 | 10-K |
| 2014-01-31 | 100,600 | 2014-03-20 | 10-K |
| 2013-02-01 | 90,500 | 2013-03-25 | 10-K |
| 2012-02-03 | 90,000 | 2012-03-22 | 10-K |
| 2011-01-28 | 85,900 | 2011-03-22 | 10-K |
| 2010-01-29 | 79,800 | 2010-03-31 | 10-K |
| 2009-01-30 | 72,500 | 2009-03-24 | 10-K |
| 2008-02-01 | 71,500 | 2008-03-28 | 10-K |
| 2007-02-02 | 69,500 | 2007-03-29 | 10-K |
| 2006-02-03 | 64,500 | 2006-03-21 | 10-K |
| 2005-01-28 | 63,200 | 2005-04-12 | 10-K |
| 2004-01-30 | 57,800 | 2004-03-16 | 10-K |
| 2003-01-31 | 53,500 | 2003-03-19 | 10-K |
| 2001-12-31 | 48,000 | 2002-04-02 | 10-K |
| 2001-02-02 | 45,000 | 2002-01-14 | 10-K |
| 2000-01-28 | 34,600 | 2000-04-27 | 10-K |
| 1999-01-29 | 29,820 | 1999-04-26 | 10-K |
| 1998-01-30 | 27,400 | 1998-04-20 | 10-K |
| 1997-01-31 | 25,400 | 1997-04-28 | 10-K |
| 1996-01-31 | 22,000 | 1996-04-29 | 10-K |
| 1995-01-31 | 18,000 | 1995-05-01 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- No headcount by kind of employee is stated; both pattern shares follow the business description (c).
- The share in the U.S. is not stated.
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001104659-26-032325, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Questions about this company
- How much of Dollar General's working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 21% now and 25% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce Dollar General's own annual report describes and BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. It is an estimate with a stated method. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings, and it says nothing about what the company will do.
- How many people does Dollar General employ?
- 194,000 as of February 27, 2026, as its annual report for the period ending January 30, 2026 states.
- What kinds of work make up Dollar General's workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 2 industry staffing patterns, the largest General Merchandise Retailers; by those patterns the work is about 25% desk work, 19% people work and 56% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Dollar General's annual report say about AI?
- 5 sentences in the filing name AI. They are counted and quoted on this page, never judged: a count says how much a filing talks about AI, not what the company does with it.
- How is this estimated?
- Claude Fable 5.1 read the annual report under the Index's written rubric (version 1) on October 1, 2026: the stated headcount, the share in the U.S. when stated, and the workforce as a blend of industry staffing patterns. The estimates are the site's industry estimates weighted by those shares, from O*NET tasks with estimated lengths and METR's measurements of how long a task AI models can finish. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.