Walmart Inc.’s new chief executive officer, John Furner, wants employees to share what’s holding them back.
In his first companywide memo since taking over on Feb. 1, Furner said he had a “simple ask: Tell me one thing that slows you down or makes it harder to do your job.”
The 51-year-old Walmart lifer will spend his first weeks visiting stores, supply-chain facilities and support offices around the world, according to the memo, which was viewed by Bloomberg. He said he’ll talk directly with workers to understand what improvements are needed.
Other CEOs have taken similar approaches in recent years. Amazon.com Inc. CEO Andy Jassy and JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon have both asked their staffers to send them examples of the red tape so it can be rooted out.
Walmart has about 2.1 million employees, including 1.6 million in the US, where it is the biggest private employer.
Furner is looking to define his agenda as the company reaches a high point: Walmart just hit $1 trillion in market valuation and strides in e-commerce have allowed it to broaden its customer base to newer, wealthier customers. The company is now looking to integrate artificial intelligence across its operations.
Anthropic Moves Into Legal, Data Services
Shares of legal software firms and other data service companies plunged on Tuesday after Anthropic released a new AI automation tool that investors worry could eat into much of their core businesses.
RELX Plc and Wolters Kluwer NV, both providers of professional analytics, fell more than 10%. Other software companies dropped, credit-reporting firm Experian Plc slid 9.0% while financial data provider London Stock Exchange Group Plc. Thomson Reuters Corp., Legalzoom.com Inc. and FactSet Research Systems Inc. all slipped around 10% or more. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF fell as much as 4.4%, while a UBS Group AG basket of European stocks deemed at risk of AI disruption fell nearly 7%.
“Anthropic launched new capabilities for its Cowork to the legal space, heightening competition within the space,” wrote Morgan Stanley analysts include Toni Kaplan in a note on Thomson Reuters. “We view this as a sign of intensifying competition, and thus a potential negative.”
Anthropic is part of a rash of AI startups developing tools for the legal industry. Long before Anthropic’s plugin, startups including Legora and Harvey AI, were flooding the legal AI space, offering tools that they’ve marketed as saving lawyers from grunt work. Investors have been pouring money into AI products for the legal industry for more than two years now, with Harvey AI being valued at $5 billion last year and Legora raised funds at a $1.8 billion valuation.
SBA: Green card holders are ineligible for loans
The Small Business Administration said in a policy note that green card holders won’t be allowed to apply for SBA loans, effective March 1.
The move is the latest by the SBA as it works to tighten loan restrictions and restructure the agency.
Last year, it tightened a requirement that businesses applying for loans must be 100% owned by U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or lawful permanent residents, up from a 51% standard.
In December, it issued a policy note that said up to 5% of a business could be non-citizen owned. But the current policy rescinds that, as well as making lawful permanent residents ineligible, too.
Compiled from Associated Press and Bloomberg reports