FedEx AI Strategy: AI in Half of Core Workflows by 2028

FedEx calls AI a force multiplier and has set a date for it: AI in more than half of its core operational workflows by 2028. It is putting all its data on one platform, training 300,000 employees in AI, and building teams of AI agents with audit agents that check their work. It reports savings for single uses, such as $10 million a year from predictive maintenance, but no total.

AI is part of the company strategy. FedEx’s annual report states: “Our digital transformation is underpinned by our digital backbone and artificial intelligence” (fiscal 2026 annual report). CEO Raj Subramaniam told investors in February 2026: “We are shifting human coordinated workflows to intelligent orchestration, standardized, digitized and AI-enabled” (Investor Day).

The target is specific. Chief digital and information officer Vishal Talwar said: “By 2028, we will have AI integrated into more than 50% of our core operational workflows” (Investor Day, February 2026). He describes the goal as “an industrial network that can sense, decide and adapt more rapidly than ever” (February 2026).

The focus has four parts.

• Network: AI plans and optimizes about 100,000 first-mile and last-mile routes a day and helps rebalance volume around weather (Supply Chain Dive, April 2026)
• Maintenance: AI models that predict equipment failures before they happen (Investor Day)
• Customers: an AI virtual assistant on fedex.com, AI-powered tracking and returns for retailers, and AI agents that help customers clear customs (annual report; WSJ, March 2026)
• Back office: agents that write and test code and run marketing campaigns (WSJ)

One executive owns digital, data and AI. Vishal Talwar, formerly of Accenture, joined in August 2025 as Executive Vice President, Chief Digital and Information Officer and President of FedEx Dataworks (FedEx release). FedEx Dataworks, a team of about 200 people in Memphis, is moving the company’s data onto one platform (annual report), and FedEx plans to consolidate all of its data into that platform, Atlas, by the end of 2027 (Investor Day). Talwar explains why: “If I give you bad information, you will make bad decisions” (WSJ).

Training reaches the whole workforce.

• Everyone: FedEx launched an enterprise-wide AI literacy program for all team members (annual report), with role-based training run by Accenture since December 2025 (HR Executive)
• By role: Talwar describes “a persona-based AI fluency program for 300,000 employees,” plus advanced training for all technology specialists (Investor Day)
• Kept current: Talwar calls it a “living curriculum” that refreshes every month and quarter (TechRadar, March 2026)
• From the top: then-CFO John Dietrich had his own weekly reports compiled with AI (Fortune, February 2026)

FedEx has not published how many employees have completed the training. Reach is the first step; what makes AI training stick is daily use.

Agents come with checks. FedEx organizes its marketing agents in three tiers, with manager, audit and worker agents, to keep clear who is accountable for each action (WSJ, March 2026). Its capital review board must approve large digital and AI projects, and Dietrich said “there should be rigorous financial analysis to ensure appropriate return” (Fortune). FedEx has published no AI principles.

The network is shrinking, and FedEx says agents will not replace people. FedEx had about 530,000 employees in May 2026 (annual report). Under Network 2.0, which merges its Express and Ground networks, it had closed more than 200 locations by August 2026 and plans to close more than 475 (Supply Chain Dive), with about 3,150 US layoffs reported so far (American Bazaar). Talwar says FedEx does not plan for its agents to replace its workers, and that “every employee and every task in the globe will get adapted to AI and will improve with AI” (WSJ).

AI fluency, coded against the Lead with AI Fluency Matrix (September 2026 edition):

• Fluency floor: Level 1 (Chatting), by program. Every team member has access to AI literacy training, and 300,000 employees are in a role-based program, but FedEx has not published completion or usage figures.
• Highest level evidenced: Level 3 (Integrating), company-claimed. AI plans 100,000 routes a day, predicts equipment failures with measured savings, and agents help clear customs. FedEx targets AI in more than half of core workflows by 2028, but the sources reviewed do not yet show AI running a process end to end, so Level 4 is not evidenced.
• Portfolio design: Data-platform-led and enterprise-wide. A central data unit builds one platform, training covers the whole workforce with deeper tracks for specialists, and agents are built with audit layers.

FedEx reports targets and single results. All figures below are company-claimed:

• Use cases: the data platform supports more than 200 AI use cases (Investor Day)
• Maintenance: predictive maintenance “is already saving us $10 million annually” and has prevented about 17,000 hours of downtime across 41 facilities (Supply Chain Dive)
• Routes: about 100,000 routes planned and optimized by AI each day (April 2026)
• Targets: AI in more than 50% of core operational workflows by 2028, and all data on one platform by the end of 2027 (February 2026)

The big savings come from the network. FedEx expects about $2 billion of savings from Network 2.0 and related changes by the end of 2027 (annual report), but gives no figure for how much comes from AI. Separating the two is the step from AI adoption to AI value.

Next markers: progress toward AI in half of core workflows, completion figures for the AI fluency program, the move of all data onto Atlas by 2027, and any AI share in the $2 billion savings.

Change log

• August 2025: Vishal Talwar joins as Chief Digital and Information Officer.
• December 2025: FedEx launches role-based AI training with Accenture.
• February 2026: At its Investor Day, FedEx sets a target of AI in more than half of core workflows by 2028.
• March 2026: FedEx describes its plan for teams of AI agents with audit agents.
• June 2026: FedEx spins off FedEx Freight.
• August 2026: More than 200 locations have closed under Network 2.0.

• Disclosure: 4 of 4. FedEx answers where it is going, where it will focus, what it will take and how it will know, with a dated target for AI in core workflows. It does not report what AI saves in total.
• AI has a deadline: more than half of core operational workflows by 2028, one of the few dated AI targets in the index.
• Data comes first. FedEx is putting all its data on one platform before it scales agents.
• Training is enterprise-wide, with a role-based program for 300,000 people.
• The say-do gap is the network. FedEx says agents will not replace workers, while Network 2.0 closes hundreds of locations, and it does not say how much of its savings AI provides.
• Watch 2028. The test is whether AI reaches half of core workflows, and whether FedEx reports what that is worth.

What the numbers show: Revenue rose 5% from fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2026 while headcount was flat, so revenue per employee rose 5%, to about $179k. By August 2026, FedEx had closed more than 200 locations under Network 2.0, which merges its Express and Ground networks, with layoffs at many of them. These figures do not show that AI caused any change.

Revenue, headcount and revenue per employee, FY2023 to FY2026

• FY2023: $90.16bn revenue, 529,000 employees, $170k per employee
• FY2024: $87.69bn revenue, 505,100 employees, $174k per employee
• FY2025: $87.93bn revenue, 510,000 employees, $172k per employee
• FY2026: $94.72bn revenue, 530,000 employees, $179k per employee

Change, FY2023 to FY2026: revenue up 5%, headcount flat, revenue per employee up 5%.

Notes: Revenue is as reported. Headcount is approximate permanent full-time and part-time employees at May 31; in 2026, about 300,000 were full-time. FedEx’s fiscal year ends on May 31. All four years include FedEx Freight, which FedEx spun off on June 1, 2026, keeping a 19.9% stake.

These figures give context on scale and productivity. They do not show that AI caused any change. Sources: FedEx 10-K filings.

What is FedEx’s AI strategy?

FedEx calls AI a force multiplier for a network that can sense, decide and adapt. It aims to have AI in more than half of its core operational workflows by 2028, built on a single data platform and supported by AI training for its workforce.

‍

Who leads AI at FedEx?

Vishal Talwar, Executive Vice President, Chief Digital and Information Officer and President of FedEx Dataworks, leads digital, data and AI. He joined from Accenture in August 2025.

‍

How is FedEx training employees in AI?

FedEx runs an enterprise-wide AI literacy program and a role-based AI fluency program for 300,000 employees, delivered with Accenture since December 2025, plus advanced training for all technology specialists.

‍

Is FedEx replacing workers with AI agents?

FedEx says it does not plan for its agents to replace workers. It is cutting jobs and closing more than 200 locations under Network 2.0, which merges its Express and Ground networks, and it has not linked those cuts to AI.

‍

What has AI saved FedEx?

FedEx reports single results, such as $10 million a year from predictive maintenance. It has not said how much of its expected $2 billion in network savings comes from AI.

‍

How is this profile put together?

Lead with AI profiles use public sources only, such as annual reports, earnings materials, filings and on-record interviews, dated at the time of writing. AI fluency is coded against the Lead with AI Fluency Matrix. Company figures are marked as company-claimed unless they have been independently verified.