Kroger's Ralphs runs Simbe's Tally shelf-scanning robots in Los Angeles stores, and the grocery workers' union says members found out only when they showed up, the LA Times reports
Ralphs will not say how many robots it uses; the LA Times says Kroger uses hundreds after pilots in Indianapolis and Cincinnati.
The Los Angeles Times reported on 15 October that Tally, an inventory robot made by Simbe Robotics of Burlingame, California, is rolling through Ralphs supermarkets in Los Angeles. Ralphs is owned by Kroger. Tally drives along the aisles scanning shelves and alerts staff to products that are misplaced or out of stock.
Ralphs declined to say how many Tally robots it has deployed. The paper says Kroger is using hundreds of them after pilot projects that started in Indianapolis and Cincinnati. A Ralphs spokesperson told the paper: “Last year, Kroger began using robotic technology to gain real-time insights on product inventory.” The Times says Bristol Farms in Santa Monica also uses Tally.
Simbe told the paper the robot “is designed to understand shelf conditions, not identify or track humans.” Not everyone was reassured. Kathy Finn, president of UFCW Local 770, the grocery workers' union, said: “Our members should not be finding out about major changes to their workplace only after new technology shows up in their stores”. A shopper told the paper: “I don't know why; I felt that it was following me.”
The story is a deployment and a labour argument rather than a new product. It shows how robots are reaching ordinary workplaces before rules or bargaining about them: the questions the union raises, about notice and about what the cameras record, are ones every retailer adding robots will face.
- Reported Ralphs declined to say how many Tally robots it has deployed; Kroger uses hundreds after pilots in Indianapolis and Cincinnati. Los Angeles Times, via Yahoo
- Claimed Simbe says the robot “is designed to understand shelf conditions, not identify or track humans.” Los Angeles Times, via Yahoo
- Reported UFCW Local 770's president says members should not learn of major workplace changes only after the technology shows up. Los Angeles Times, via Yahoo
Robots & physical AIAgents in the wild
Today in the October 16, 2026 edition · front page