The Workforce AI Index · Consumer Cyclical
Macy's, Inc. (M)
Department store operator, all U.S.. Read October 1, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending 2026-01-31, filed 2026-03-27. Ranked 13 of the 39 Consumer Cyclical companies read so far, by the share within reach now: the sector.
The filing states 90,134 full-time and part-time U.S. employees and nothing by workplace, so one department store pattern carries the workforce (c).
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: 22% now, 25% at the end of 2027, 25% at the end of 2028, 26% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 26% desk work, 20% people work and 55% 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 74% 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
90,134 employees as of 2026-01-31 (stated). The filing counts its 90,134 full-time and part-time employees as U.S. employees.
The filing: “As of January 31, 2026, Macy's, Inc. had approximately 90,134 full-time and part-time U.S. employees, on a combined basis.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| General Merchandise Retailers | 100% | By description (c): department stores under the Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury names, with the supply chain and corporate colleagues the filing mentions kept inside the retail pattern under rule 6, since it counts none of them. |
What the filing says about the workforce: Approximately 90,134 full-time and part-time U.S. employees, peaking in the holiday season; about 8% represented by unions; 72% female colleagues; pay ranges shown on all job postings.
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 General (DG, 194,000 employees)21% now, 25% by 2028
- Dollar Tree (DLTR, 153,032 employees)21% now, 25% by 2028
What the filing says about AI
14 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing names AI in 14 sentences: AI applied to how customers discover and shop through shopping assistance and agentic commerce, experiments with AI in merchandising, planning and marketing, and AI among its forward-looking risks.
- “Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including risks and uncertainties relating to: the possible invalidity of the underlying beliefs and assumptions; the Company's ability to successfully implement the Bold New Chapter strategy, including the ability to realize the anticipated benefits within the expected time frame or at all; the success of the Compa...”
- “We are applying artificial intelligence to how customers discover, shop and engage with our brands through intelligent shopping assistance, agentic commerce and hyper-personalized experience.”
- “We are also experimenting with AI in merchandising, planning and marketing to optimize inventory and demand decisions, among other uses.”
- “If our competitors are able to deploy AI technology more effectively or faster, we could lose competitive advantage or market share.”
- “These investments involve replacing existing systems, some of which are older, legacy systems, outsourcing certain technology and business processes to third-party service providers, including the adoption of generative and agentic artificial intelligence ("AI") in certain processes, making changes to existing systems including the migration of applications to the cloud, maintaining or enhancin...”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-31 | 90,134 | 2026-03-27 | 10-K |
| 2025-02-01 | 94,189 | 2025-03-21 | 10-K |
| 2024-02-03 | 85,581 | 2024-03-22 | 10-K |
| 2023-01-28 | 94,570 | 2023-03-24 | 10-K |
| 2022-01-29 | 88,857 | 2022-03-25 | 10-K |
| 2021-01-30 | 75,711 | 2021-03-29 | 10-K |
| 2020-02-01 | 123,000 | 2020-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2019-02-02 | 130,000 | 2019-04-03 | 10-K |
| 2018-02-03 | 130,000 | 2018-04-04 | 10-K |
| 2017-01-28 | 148,300 | 2017-03-29 | 10-K |
| 2016-01-30 | 157,900 | 2016-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2015-01-31 | 166,900 | 2015-04-01 | 10-K |
| 2014-02-01 | 172,500 | 2014-04-02 | 10-K |
| 2013-02-02 | 175,700 | 2013-04-03 | 10-K |
| 2012-01-28 | 171,000 | 2012-03-28 | 10-K |
| 2011-01-29 | 166,000 | 2011-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2010-01-30 | 161,000 | 2010-03-31 | 10-K |
| 2009-01-31 | 167,000 | 2009-04-01 | 10-K |
| 2008-02-02 | 182,000 | 2008-04-01 | 10-K |
| 2007-02-03 | 188,000 | 2007-04-04 | 10-K |
| 2006-01-28 | 210,000 | 2006-04-13 | 10-K |
| 2005-01-29 | 112,000 | 2005-03-28 | 10-K |
| 2004-01-31 | 111,000 | 2004-04-15 | 10-K |
| 2003-02-01 | 113,000 | 2003-04-16 | 10-K |
| 2002-02-02 | 115,000 | 2002-04-17 | 10-K |
| 2001-02-03 | 129,000 | 2001-04-18 | 10-K |
| 2000-01-29 | 133,000 | 2000-04-19 | 10-K |
| 1999-01-30 | 118,800 | 1999-04-21 | 10-K |
| 1998-01-31 | 114,700 | 1998-04-16 | 10-K |
| 1997-02-01 | 117,100 | 1997-04-17 | 10-K |
| 1996-02-03 | 119,100 | 1996-04-17 | 10-K |
| 1995-01-28 | 111,700 | 1995-04-20 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- The filing counts no people by workplace; distribution centers and corporate staff stay inside the retail pattern (rule 6).
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001628280-26-021721, 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 Macy's, Inc.'s working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 22% now and 25% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce Macy's, Inc.'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 Macy's, Inc. employ?
- 90,134 as of January 31, 2026, as its annual report for the period ending January 31, 2026 states. About 100% in the U.S.
- What kinds of work make up Macy's, Inc.'s workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 1 industry staffing pattern, the largest General Merchandise Retailers; by those patterns the work is about 26% desk work, 20% people work and 55% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Macy's, Inc.'s annual report say about AI?
- 14 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.