Walmart Reaffirms Commitment to Engineers While Expanding AI Agents

Walmart has been clear about its vision for the future: artificial intelligence will change the nature of nearly every job across its global workforce. Yet the company is doubling down on software engineering talent, ensuring that humans remain at the center of its innovation strategy.

At a workforce conference in Bentonville, CEO Doug McMillon said that “AI is going to change literally every job.” Some positions may shrink or shift, while others are being created to support a new era of collaboration between people and machines.

Hiring Engineers in the Age of AI

Even as the broader tech job market has cooled, Walmart continues to recruit engineers, particularly those with AI expertise. A recent job listing for an “agent developer” illustrates the new skill sets the company is seeking, calling for candidates who can design and deploy AI systems that automate complex workflows.

Sravana Karnati, executive vice president of global technology platforms, emphasized that demand for skilled engineers is not slowing down. “Good engineers are always needed,” he said. Walmart representatives added that the company is also investing in reskilling, ensuring that current employees can pivot into areas where human judgment and creativity remain essential.

Wibey and the Agent Ecosystem

AI agents have already become central to Walmart’s technology operations. These agents are designed to handle tasks autonomously, allowing developers to focus on higher-value projects.

In August, Walmart unveiled Wibey, a “super agent” that acts as a hub for the hundreds of AI agents built by its developers. Wibey makes it easier to register, share, and reuse agents across teams. Some of these agents have already delivered measurable results, such as those that automate accessibility compliance. According to Karnati, the agents now identify about 60 percent of accessibility-related software bugs and resolve 95 percent of them automatically, leading to an eightfold increase in productivity in that area.

AI is also helping developers modernize Walmart’s legacy code. Previously, updating older systems often required consultations with senior engineers. Today, Walmart reports that more than 95 percent of its developers use AI assistants such as GitHub Copilot and JetBrains to streamline that work.

What Comes Next

Walmart leaders expect that AI agents will eventually interact not only with human engineers but with one another. Karnati described a scenario in which agents could be assigned problems overnight, with human managers reviewing their work the next morning.

Even so, Walmart stresses that humans will remain in the loop. “We’re not at a point where we can let an agent run loose and let it solve all kinds of problems,” Karnati said. “We will still keep humans in the loop.”

Shaping the Workforce of the Future

Walmart projects that its total workforce of 2.1 million will remain roughly flat over the next three years, though the mix of roles will change significantly. AI will take on more repetitive and technical tasks, while human associates will focus on decision-making, oversight, and strategy.

For Walmart suppliers and partners, this dual strategy highlights how the retailer is creating a more agile technology backbone. AI is not being introduced as a replacement for people but as a way to extend their capabilities, ensure compliance, modernize systems, and ultimately build a stronger retail ecosystem.

Perspective
Walmart’s approach reflects a broader trend in retail: success comes not from choosing between humans and AI, but from finding the right balance between them. Engineers remain at the center of the company’s vision, supported by a growing roster of AI collaborators designed to make the business more adaptive, efficient, and innovative.

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