It's happening guys, the robots are taking over...
The first Walmart store has switched over to self-checkout only and it's safe to say, no one's happy about it...
Nope. I'll boycott. Not because I'm lazy and can't check out my own shit but because I'm not about to HELP them eliminate these jobs
— T ⚖ (@LoveLibra_T) June 17, 2020
It's bout to be a whole lot of stealing 🤣😂🤣😂🤣
— Lechero🖕🏿😝 (@Tha_Villain_Lam) June 17, 2020
It’s impossible.. it would never work
— Mr. Trent (@Mr_Sep7emb3r) June 18, 2020
Walmart’s greed is paramount. They don’t care about their workers. Stores are trash.
— CitizinJ (@citizin_j) June 18, 2020
The bold move occurred first at the Fayetteville store in Arkansas but Walmart is hoping to make this a permanent update in every national store.
Of course, a lot of people were understandably worried about the reduction in jobs if cashiers are going to be replaced with self-checkout services, but the company has stressed that all their employees will be given the option to change their position to "hosts."
According to their news website, hosts will play a critical role in all of this: "It's the host's job to make sure the checkout experiences are exactly what customers want them to be. If a customer wants to check themselves out, a host is there to show them to an open register. If a customer wants to be checked out by an associate, a host rings them up and bags all of their items just like they would have in the old lane-driven layout."
"This kind of interaction is what Senior Vice President of Walmart U.S. Innovations Development John Crecelius has been excited to see come to life while designing this new layout," they added.
The company hopes that it will reduce waiting times for customers and will also make working at Walmart are more enjoyable experience for employees.
Let's hope so!