The Workforce AI Index · Consumer Defensive
Walmart (WMT)
Stores and clubs with a large supply chain. Read October 1, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending 2026-01-31, filed 2026-03-13. Ranked 7 of the 16 Consumer Defensive companies read so far, by the share within reach now: the sector.
A retailer whose filing states its headcount and U.S. share but splits its workforce only by facility counts, so the two patterns come from 10,955 stores and 371 distribution facilities at typical staffing.
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, 18% people work and 57% 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 12% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
2,100,000 employees as of 2026-01-31 (stated). Approximately 1.6 million of 2.1 million associates are in the U.S.; 0.5 million are international.
The filing: “Our business is focused on serving people and this is delivered by our approximately 2.1 million associates around the world with approximately 1.6 million associates in the U.S. and approximately 0.5 million associates internationally.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| General Merchandise Retailers | 86% | The filing gives no headcount by segment, so this is (b): 10,955 retail units (4,611 Walmart U.S., 601 Sam's Club, 5,743 international) at a typical store staffing of about 160 associates, against the distribution network below, scaled to the stated 2.1 million; warehouse clubs and supercenters are general merchandise retail in NAICS. |
| Warehousing and Storage | 14% | By (b): 192 distribution facilities in the U.S. and 179 outside it, 371 in all, including eCommerce fulfillment centers, at a typical staffing of about 800 each, about 300,000 associates or 14% of the total; the private truck fleet the filing mentions has no stated driver count and is folded in here. |
What the filing says about the workforce: U.S. figures: about 92% of associates are hourly and 68% full-time; about 75% of U.S. salaried store, club and supply chain management associates began in hourly positions. No store-versus-supply-chain headcount is stated.
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.
- 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
- Macy's, Inc. (M, 90,134 employees)22% now, 25% by 2028
What the filing says about AI
21 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing describes building a 'digitally skilled, AI-enabled workforce', company-wide AI learning pathways and certifications for associates, and 'identifying areas where AI can automate repetitive tasks' while reshaping roles toward 'uniquely human strengths'; AI also appears in its technology and competition discussion.
- “These forward-looking statements may relate to: macroeconomic, geopolitical, and business conditions, trends and events around the world and in the markets in which we operate, including inflation or deflation, generally, and in certain product categories, the impact of supply chain challenges, tariffs and recessionary pressures; changes or modifications in tariff rates, exemptions therefrom or...”
- “We continue to heavily invest in omnichannel and eCommerce innovation, as well as supply chain capabilities, which enables us to leverage technology, talent and expertise, and expand our assortment and service offerings, including through the integration of advanced technologies such as AI.”
- “Our strategies increasingly include the use of AI-powered tools to support customer and member-facing experiences, associate productivity and operational efficiency across our ecosystem.”
- “We employ many strategies and programs designed to meet competitive pressures within our industry, which increasingly incorporate the use of AI-powered tools.”
- “Our workforce strategy focuses on aligning our organizational structure, talent capabilities and technology investments with the evolving needs of the business, including development of a digitally skilled, AI-enabled workforce.”
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 | 2,100,000 | 2026-03-13 | 10-K |
| 2025-01-31 | 2,100,000 | 2025-03-14 | 10-K |
| 2024-01-31 | 2,100,000 | 2024-03-15 | 10-K |
| 2023-01-31 | 2,100,000 | 2023-03-17 | 10-K |
| 2022-01-31 | 2,300,000 | 2022-03-18 | 10-K |
| 2021-01-31 | 2,300,000 | 2021-03-19 | 10-K |
| 2020-01-31 | 2,200,000 | 2020-03-20 | 10-K |
| 2019-01-31 | 2,200,000 | 2019-03-28 | 10-K |
| 2018-01-31 | 2,300,000 | 2018-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2017-01-31 | 2,300,000 | 2017-03-31 | 10-K |
| 2016-01-31 | 2,300,000 | 2016-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2015-01-31 | 2,200,000 | 2015-04-01 | 10-K |
| 2014-01-31 | 2,200,000 | 2014-03-21 | 10-K |
| 2013-01-31 | 2,200,000 | 2013-03-26 | 10-K |
| 2012-01-31 | 2,200,000 | 2012-03-27 | 10-K |
| 2011-01-31 | 2,100,000 | 2011-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2010-01-31 | 2,100,000 | 2010-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2009-04-01 | 2,100,000 | 2009-04-01 | 10-K |
| 2008-01-31 | 2,100,000 | 2008-03-31 | 10-K |
| 2007-01-31 | 1,900,000 | 2007-03-27 | 10-K |
| 2006-01-31 | 1,800,000 | 2006-03-29 | 10-K |
| 2005-01-31 | 1,700,000 | 2005-03-31 | 10-K |
| 2004-01-31 | 1,500,000 | 2004-04-09 | 10-K |
| 2003-01-31 | 1,400,000 | 2003-04-15 | 10-K |
| 2002-01-31 | 1,383,000 | 2002-04-15 | 10-K |
| 2001-01-31 | 1,244,000 | 2001-04-10 | 10-K |
| 2000-01-31 | 1,140,000 | 2000-04-17 | 10-K |
| 1999-01-31 | 910,000 | 1999-04-19 | 10-K |
| 1998-01-31 | 825,000 | 1998-04-23 | 10-K |
| 1997-01-31 | 728,000 | 1997-04-21 | 10-K |
| 1996-01-31 | 675,000 | 1996-04-23 | 10-K |
| 1995-01-31 | 622,000 | 1995-04-27 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- Pattern shares rest on facility counts (b), not on stated headcounts.
- International formats (grocery, cash-and-carry, and Flipkart's e-commerce in India) are read as general merchandise retail because the filing gives no split by format.
- Corporate and technology staff have no stated count and sit inside the two patterns, as BLS counts them.
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0000104169-26-000055, 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 Walmart'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 Walmart'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 Walmart employ?
- 2,100,000 as of January 31, 2026, as its annual report for the period ending January 31, 2026 states. About 76% in the U.S.
- What kinds of work make up Walmart'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, 18% people work and 57% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Walmart's annual report say about AI?
- 21 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.