WSJ: Walmart's Symbotic Warehouse Automation Hits Dust, Dead Robots, and $800K Power Bills; No Workable Model Until 2028

The Wall Street Journal reports Walmart is still struggling to automate its ~200 US supply-chain facilities despite a decade and nearly $1B invested since 2016. Breakdowns from dust buildup, oversized cardboard boxes, and unreliable mobile robots have delayed throughput targets; automated grocery warehouses now draw monthly utility bills topping $800,000 at peak versus about $250,000 for manual sites. Walmart owns 12.6% of primary partner Symbotic, which does not expect a workable in-store model until 2028.