Walmart Inc. is making Toronto one of a pair of new global technology hubs, with plans to hire hundreds of workers at the two sites.
The retail giant says it chose Canada’s largest city and Atlanta, Ga. ace hubs because of their growing technology sector presence and their broad and diverse local talent pools.
“We are excited to join the vibrant and diverse technology communities in Toronto and Atlanta,” said Suresh Kumar, chief technologynology officer and chief development officer at Walmart.
“Work from these new hubs will impact millions of lives and transform the future of retail.”
The initial hiring phase in Toronto will include 45 full-time roles in software development, technologynical program management and product management. Initial hiring in Atlanta is expected to include 140 new full-time roles.
Walmart says deploying the latest technologynology is part of a $3.5 billion investment for Canada announced in 2020 to make the online and in-store experience simpler, faster and more convenient for its customers.
The company also says that the development of this technologynology hub will keep homegrown technology talent in Canada.
The expansion is part of Walmart Global technology‘s plan to hire more than 5,000 employees globally this fiscal year.
The addition of Toronto and Atlanta will increase the number of Walmart Global technology hubs to 16, including Seattle and Chennai, India that launched last year. The number of global technology employees increased 26 per cent last year to 20,000.
“Canada has a dynamic and world leading technology community powered by talented people and innovation that is recognized on a global scale,” stated Nicolai Salcedo, chief technologynology and data officer of Walmart Canada in a news release.
Walmart‘s 2020 decision to spend $3.5 billion in Canada over five years came as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated e-commerce trends and altered the way people shopped.
Canadians are more familiar with online shopping than they were in 2019, and retailers are expanding their offerings through capsule collections, resale agreements and other initiatives.
The aim of Walmart‘s Toronto technology hub investment is to keep up with these changes and boost the company’s presence in Canada, the company said.
The investment also includes the renovation of 150 stores.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 15, 2022.