Retrain or Replace? Walmart's 1.6M-Worker AI Bet vs. Amazon's Cuts

Two retail giants are facing the same AI wave — and making opposite bets. Walmart just enrolled all 1.6 million of its U.S. and Canadian workers in free AI training. Amazon cut 14,000 jobs. For CHROs watching from the sidelines, this isn't a theoretical debate anymore. It's playing out at scale, right now. In this episode, we dig into what's driving each strategy, what the data says about AI fluency and wages, and the three questions every HR leader should be asking before choosing a path. You'll also hear why training completion rates are the wrong metric — and what to track instead if you want to know whether your reskilling investment is actually working. Featuring insights from Walmart CPO Donna Morris and real numbers on the AI fluency gap that's quietly reshaping compensation across every industry.