B.C. Walmart to go completely cashier-less as part of pilot progam

TERRACE (NEWS 1130) — A Walmart in B.C. is set to be one of a handful of stores across the country to do away with cashiers entirely as part of a test project.

The Terrace location of the retail behemoth will be “100 per cent self-checkout” by later this summer, says a spokesperson for Walmart in an email.

“Our customers have embraced self-checkouts as they’ve rolled out across the country over the past few years. Our Terrace customers, in particular, are using the self-checkouts in high numbers, which is one of the reasons the store was selected as part of the test.”

This change, according to Walmart, is part of a test project and will not cost anyone their job.

“Over the years we’ve heard concerns that self-checkouts will impact jobs but that’s simply not the case,” the statement continues, adding the terrace store is currently hiring for more than 40 positions.

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The leader of a provincial union representing grocery and retail workers says anxiety about possible job losses always accompanies news of increased automation.

“We certainly have concerns about the announcement that they are going to run a store completely cashier-less,” says Kim Novak, president of UFCW Local 1518.

“This is something our members have been concerned about for quite some time because of the fact that that type of technological change impacts what is already quite a precarious and part-time workforce.”

As a union, Novak says a key priority is negotiating contracts that include “technological change clauses” that ensure people are retrained and reassigned.

“Ultimately, the fact that we see women and racialized workers predominantly working in these sectors on the front lines — working as cashiers and in grocery stores and retail location —  these types of changes can really erode their access to work,” she explains.

“So we want to make sure that, while we can’t stop technology from changing, it shouldn’t be at the expense and cost of the workers who have allowed these businesses to make as much money as they have over the last year, and for decades.”

Novak says workers won’t be the only ones keeping their eyes on how Walmart’s cashier-less stores fare.

“Whenever there is a technological change, all of the other competitors are looking to see how it works,” she says.

The employees at the Terrace Walmart are not members of UFCW 1518, but Novak says she will be paying attention — and is hopeful the company will keep its word.

“We hope that after over 16 months of working on the front lines that these workers who are these positions are not going to be negatively impacted by this technological change,” she says.

“We hope to see that these jobs are going to be changed and there’s going to be opportunities for people who are working on the front end to be able to work elsewhere.”

With files from Tamara Slobogean