Walmart to cut some overnight work shifts

Walmart Inc. is cutting the graveyard shift in hundreds of stores while also expanding the use of a labor-saving product sorting machine — the latest efforts by the world’s largest retailer to whittle down expenses across its sprawling U.S. operations.

The company is eliminating the overnight shift that restocks the aisles at about 300 stores, and will aim to transition those employees to other hours. The affected stores are primarily smaller ones with lower annual sales or customer traffic. At the same time, Walmart’s expanding the use of a backroom conveyor system that takes boxes of products from trucks and scans them to speed their delivery to the shelves. The so-called “Fast Unloader” machine will be in 1,700 stores by the end of the year, up from 400 now.

The moves show how Walmart, despite strong sales, is grappling to keep a lid on operating expenses — especially as labor and transportation costs and e-commerce investments weigh on margins. The automation of everyday tasks like scrubbing floors and checking shelves for out-of-stock products can boost productivity and free employees up to interact with customers, Walmart has said.

Walmart’s 4,756 U.S. stores will see “lots more change,” U.S. Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran said at an October investor meeting. “Roles will change, how we work will change.”

Those changes include transitioning Walmart’s trademark store greeters to “customer hosts,” a role with broader responsibilities such as checking shopping carts for theft and handling refunds.

That move prompted a wave of criticism as some disabled greeters feared they would lose their jobs if they couldn’t handle the additional duties.

On Thursday night Foran addressed the issue, releasing a memo that promised to give those greeters more time to find a new job than the usual 60 days.