Why Walmart is adding thousands of robots to U.S. stores

a post by Stephen Johnson for the Big Think blog

"Think R2D2," Walmart wrote in a press release. Others are thinking "layoffs."

• Walmart plans to soon add more than 3,900 robots to stores across the U.S.
• The robots will perform tasks such as scanning products, sorting shipments, cleaning floors, and readying online purchases for pickup.
• Walmart says the robots will free up time for employees to help customers, while critics say its a long-term move toward replacing human workers.

Walmart is adding thousands of new robots to stores across the U.S., a move that comes as retailers struggle to attract and retain workers amid record-low unemployment rates.

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