Walmart on way to a hiring milestone

Amazon.com Inc. introduced a new warehouse robot named Vulcan, which it says will improve fulfillment speed and reduce physical strain for workers. Vulcan is Amazon’s first robot equipped with a sense of touch, according to Alex Davies, senior editor at AboutAmazon.com. In a corporate blog post, Davies wrote that Vulcan uses artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tooling and force feedback sensors to stow and retrieve items from tightly packed storage pods — areas that typically require workers to climb ladders or crouch to access. The goal, he explained, is to reduce physical strain while increasing fulfillment efficiency.

SECOND QUARTER 2020 SUMMARY: • Second quarter net loss of $255 million, which included after-tax COVID-19 related charges of $14 million primarily related to corporate asset impairments, decreased from net earnings of $141 million during the same period in fiscal 2019. • In Full-Price, net sales decreased 58 percent. Excluding the Anniversary Sale event shift impact, Full-Price sales decreased in the mid-forties percent range. Off-Price net sales decreased 43 percent compared with the same period in fiscal 2019. Top performing merchandise categories included home, kidswear, accessories, beauty and active in both Full-Price and Off-Price. • Total company digital sales decreased 5 percent. Excluding the Anniversary Sale event shift impact, digital sales increased approximately 20 percent in the second quarter and in the mid-teens range on a year-to-date basis. The Company’s e-commerce business continued to experience significant growth in new Nordstrom customers of more than 50 percent. • Gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, was 21 percent, decreasing from 35 percent for the same period in fiscal 2019 due to planned markdowns and deleverage from lower sales volume and reflected sequential improvement in merchandise margin trends.

A new report from Wiley (NYSE: WLY) suggests that generative artificial intelligence (AI) is already being used in the majority of college classrooms—and that number could climb quickly. The majority (58%) of college instructors who responded to Wiley’s recent survey say they or their students are already using generative AI in their classrooms, according to the company’s new report, Higher Ed’s Next Chapter, 2023-2024. And another third of those who aren’t say they’d consider using it in the future. More than 60% of instructors are somewhat or very familiar with generative AI tools. “The whirlwind that is generative AI has swept across our college campuses with remarkable speed, and there’s no going back,” said Smita Bakshi, senior vice president of academic learning at Wiley. “It’s important for college instructors to educate themselves and their students on effective and appropriate use of this new technology in the classroom.”