Walmart has been using robots since 2017 when it signed with Bossa Nova Robotics. Initially, 50 points of the American trade network were equipped with machines. Robots were supposed to make it easier to do routine work in stores. They were entrusted with the task of scanning shelves using machine vision for the need to replenish stocks of certain goods. Bossa Nova Robotics announced earlier this year that it plans to expand its coverage to 1,000 Walmart stores.

The official reason for the end of the collaboration between Walmart and Bossa Nova Robotics has not been named, but it is likely that the coronavirus pandemic was not without. Edition of The Wall Street Journal reports that the retail chain buyers were more likely to order products via the Internet. Walmart management at some point discovered that store employees began to walk between store shelves more often, collecting goods to form online orders. Probably, the company considered that employees at the same time could carry out an inventory of goods, that is, the task that was assigned to the robots. An additional reason is that many Walmart customers have not been able to get used to the presence of robots in stores.

The completion of the contract had a very serious impact on Bossa Nova Robotics. According to TechCrunch, it has already had to lay off half of its employees. In a conversation with the publication, a company representative refused to confirm or deny the connection of this event with the termination of the contract with Walmart. He only said that the company had to ” optimize ” its activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.