By Nicholas P. Brown and Juveria Tabassum
June 4 (Reuters) - Walmart investors on Thursday voted against a shareholder proposal asking it to report on how its use of AI is affecting the well-being of its workforce, according to preliminary voting results from the retailer's annual shareholders' meeting.
The proposal, filed by investor United for Respect, comes in the teeth of Walmart's escalating battle against Amazon for e-commerce dominance. Walmart aims to get deliveries to customers within 30 minutes.
Ava Williams, an overnight worker at a Walmart in Spokane, Washington, spoke in favor of the proposal, saying she has "repeatedly tried to sound the alarm" about how AI-driven employee standards are leading to "injuries, burnout, and high turnover." "We're expected to meet impossible timelines," Williams said, adding that workers are sometimes pressured to skip critical steps such as sanitizing shelves and checking for expired products.
"There is zero accountability for the tools that now impact our safety."
Josh Allen, Walmart's head of frontline training, said the company’s AI philosophy tries to emphasize "responsible use and human judgment."
“AI learning should build confidence, not pressure,” Allen said during an AI training presentation at Walmart’s annual Associates Week event.
Walmart is the largest private employer in the U.S. with about 1.6 million employees, according to its 2026 annual report.
Walmart is ramping up investments in artificial intelligence and automation across its warehouses and stores, deploying tools such as “self‑healing” inventory systems to monitor and replenish stock, and predictive demand forecasting.
Sales in fast delivery rose more than 50% year-over-year in the first quarter, which Walmart reported in May.
The company is also aggressively automating its back end. More than 60% of its stores now receive freight from automated distribution centers, and over 50% of its e-commerce fulfillment volume is automated, the company said late last year.
It is leaning hard into AI-driven training tools, too. On Wednesday, a bakery manager at an Arkansas Sam's Club demonstrated to the media a tool that uses photos to assess the quality of freshly baked pies, and the proficiency of piped inscription on cakes.
CFO John David Rainey has said these investments helped reduce shipping costs, which have been consistently dropping in the 30% range for several quarters.
Walmart saw a 150% increase in same-day, next-day units sold from its fulfillment centers, Rainey told analysts on a post-earnings call in May.
RISKS AROUND IMMIGRATION POLICIES
Preliminary results of the vote also showed that shareholders rejected a proposal requesting a report on how shifting U.S. immigration policy and enforcement under President Donald Trump may impact Walmart's operations.
The proposal, submitted by SOC Investment Group, raised concerns that measures from the administration such as canceling humanitarian parole visas resulted in job losses and staffing shortages across the country. It noted that hundreds of workers at Walmart supercenters in Florida and Texas had work permits abruptly revoked.
The proposal also said that the jump in the H-1B visa fee from $215 to $100,000 would also impact the company's ability to hire people and affect growth in its web platform and infrastructure.
Walmart paused H-1B hiring in October last year, according to media reports, which was about a month after the fee revision.
The proposal also said the pause on visa grants to foreign-born commercial truckers could lead to rising costs for Walmart.
Walmart said it had not experienced significant operational or supply chain disruptions due to immigration-related policy changes.
"Our use of employment-based visa sponsorships is actually a very small percentage of our U.S. workforce, and it's primarily for specialized roles and complements other forms of workforce planning," Donna Morris, executive vice president and chief people officer at Walmart, told investors.
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio)
