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Is Walmart closing on November 1st? Many people are curious — and increasingly concerned — as the government shutdown continues with no clear end in sight. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in a notice on its website that the shutdown will cause Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to stop being issued starting Nov. 1, 2025. According to Newsweek, this could lead to a major drop in consumer spending for Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer. “Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01,” the USDA wrote on its website. The department attributed the continued shutdown to Senate Democrats’ failure to act. “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats,” the notice adds. “They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition...
Walmart is investing in AI to power its next phase of digital transformation. On Thursday (July 24), it announced four AI-powered “super agents” designed to improve customer experience and “streamline operations,” Reuters reports. The goal is to grow e-commerce to 50% of total sales within five years. According to Reuters, the new AI agents, which are tailored for shoppers, associates, suppliers, and developers, are built on agentic AI, a technology designed to perform complex tasks with minimal human input. Sparky And The Shopper Experience Sparky, a generative AI tool, is already live in the Walmart app, Reuters reports. Customers can use it to get product suggestions, find printer ink, summarize product reviews, and more. Per the outlet, as a super agent, it will soon be able to reorder frequently purchased items, plan events, and suggest recipes using computer vision to scan fridge contents, according to Hari Vasudev, Walmart’s U.S. chief technology officer. Internal Tools For...
Marriott International’s leadership has reaffirmed its commitment to championing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), maintaining its stance even as President Donald Trump announces opposition to such initiatives at the federal level. On April 10, 2025, Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano spoke at the Great Place to Work For All Summit in Las Vegas, NV, according to Fortune. The three-day event gathered thousands of executives from over 800 companies, and Capuano discussed how Marriott plans to navigate the changes to DEI. He shared that his initial response was to meet with his executive leadership team in Bethesda, MA, where they decided to take a week to research and deliberate before reconvening. Shortly after, while attending Americas Lodging Investment Summit in Los Angeles, CA, Capuano faced numerous questions about Marriott’s future approach to DEI. In response, he thought of conversations with his mentor and former chairman, Bill Marriott. “The winds blow, but there are some...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Trump’s tariffs have upended multiple industries. For bigger companies like Apple and Microsoft, or fast fashion behemoths like Zara, tariffs can be easily avoided by moving their distribution elsewhere. But for smaller businesses that don’t possess the same infrastructure, they don’t have that ability. Most Americans would agree that manufacturing should come back to the United States. Over the past decades, companies have moved their work abroad to take advantage of lower wages and the lack of unions that protect workers from abuses. In short, it’s easier to take advantage of the cheap labor offered in other countries like China, Thailand, and Vietnam. The whole system is inherently problematic, especially when we look at how workers in the United States are constantly berated and not treated properly. Moving manufacturing back to the states will also mean, unfortunately, that prices for goods...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™ and will not impact the outcome of the events. TikTok has been the center of controversy, due to national security concerns, since 2020, when President Donald Trump first attempted to ban the app in the U.S. Former President Joe Biden continued to push forward with a ban, passing a mandate with overwhelming congressional support to force TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, to sell to a U.S. company or be banned in the U.S. After several lawsuits and attempts to reverse the decision, the app chose to go dark right before Trump was inaugurated. Since then, Trump has signed an executive order to delay the ban by 75 days , providing a reprieve for TikTok and millions of its U.S. users and more time to sell the app to an American company. Now, time is almost up as the app is at risk again of being banned on April 5 . The Trump administration has stated that it is in talks with several...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Just two weeks into his presidency, the Trump administration has already decreed several executive orders to undo much of former President Joe Biden’s work in the past four years. As many predicted, President Donald Trump has come after DEI initiatives , signing an executive order to remove all DEI programs within the Federal government. Corporations like JP Morgan Chase & Co, Costco , and Goldman Sachs have all stated that they plan to retain their corporate DEI programs and continue with business as usual. However, other big retailers like Walmart , Meta, McDonald’s, and Target have rolled back their previous DEI promises in accordance with the Trump administration. In recent years, corporate DEI initiatives have faced increasing attacks, with right-wing critics arguing that efforts to promote diversity are discriminatory against white people. Many corporations began implementing diversity,...
Amazon has updated its company policy and a section of its website that provides employment information, removing language that ensures protection for Black and LGBTQ+ employees. In late December 2024, the company removed statements supporting and advocating for transgender rights protections as well as expressing “solidarity” with Black employees and customers, according to The Washington Post. Amazon also removed language supporting laws to address misconduct and racial bias in policing, initiatives to protect and expand voting rights , and efforts to promote better health and educational opportunities for Black people. The sections titled “Equity for Black People” and “LGBTQ+ Rights” no longer exist in the company’s policy, along with all references to the term “transgender.” The “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” section now states that “inequitable treatment of anyone — including Black people, LGBTQ+ people, Asians, women, and others — is unacceptable.” A page once titled...
This year’s AfroTech conference going down in Houston is more than just a gathering—it’s a celebration of Black creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship! We’re thrilled to partner with Walmart who will be bringing The Shoutout Experience to AfroTech 2024. Part of Walmart’s Black & Unlimited program, The Shoutout is a bold initiative spotlighting Black creators, founders and businesses through the power of community-driven support. Nearly 50% of Black-owned businesses thrive on word of mouth, underscoring the essential role that we as a community play in driving visibility and success for the Black-owned brands we admire and love. With The Shoutout Experience, Walmart Black & Unlimited harnesses this power, giving us all a way to wear, share and shout out our love for Black ingenuity while amplifying the game-changing creators and entrepreneurs who lead these businesses. So, what can you expect at AfroTech? Get ready for an experience that empowers you to be an ambassador for...
Being behind quality products is one thing, but scaling across industries is an even bigger feat. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 100 Coconuts (@100coconuts) After building his name in tech with apps such as SongBooth, Gregory Lowe II took a leap into consumer packaged goods (CPG) by launching 100 Coconuts in 2019 — marking it as the first Black-owned coconut water brand.
Lil Yachty has gone from foodie to stepping into the industry. The Grammy-nominated rapper has launched Yachty’s Pizzeria, his own frozen pizza line, according to a press release shared with AfroTech. Lil Yachty’s first-ever frozen pizza line is exclusively sold in Walmart stores nationwide. View this post on Instagram A post shared by C.V T (@lilyachty)
The Safety Pouch is now sold at Walmart stores. @davidpricesp Repost since TT took the first one down. Dreams do come true. Go and get yours at a Walmart near you! #smallbusiness #walmart #safetypouch #juneteenth #StJudeDadPhotos #fathersday #beyonce #breakmysoul ♬ BREAK MY SOUL – Beyoncé