Walmart is replacing cashiers at its Terrace store with self-serve checkouts this summer, making it a test project along with a select number of other outlets in Canada.

In an emailed statement to The Terrace Standard, Walmart Canada said its Terrace store was selected as a test location because a large number of customers were using self-checkouts.

鈥淥ur business is transforming and we鈥檙e relentlessly focused on making our stores simpler and faster for our customers. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e constantly innovating and trying new initiatives so we can be the very best retailer,鈥� said spokesperson Felicia Fefer.

鈥淥ur customers have embraced self-checkouts as they鈥檝e rolled out across the country over the past few years,鈥� she added.

But while Walmart will eliminate cashier positions here that don鈥檛 necessarily mean an overall job loss, the corporation said.

鈥淥ver the years we鈥檝e heard concerns that self-checkouts will impact jobs but that鈥檚 simply not the case. The self-checkout area will be staffed by dedicated associates to help our customers and there will be no job loss as a result of this change,鈥� said Fefer.

She said 40 more people will be hired in the coming months in the Terrace branch as it prepares to launch an online grocery purchase option.