BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart announced Wednesday that it plans to boost spending over the next decade by $350 billion on products made, grown or assembled in the United States.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail behemoth also estimated the step will support the creation of more than 750,000 American jobs.
John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart U.S., stated in a news release that U.S. manufacturing “really matters.”
“It matters to our suppliers, to entrepreneurs and to the environment. It matters to our customers – more than 85 percent of which have said it’s important for us to carry products made or assembled in the U.S. And most of all, because of the jobs it brings, it matters to American communities and the people who live in them,” Furner said.
Wednesday’s announcement builds upon Walmart’s 2013 commitment to boost its purchase of U.S. products by $250 billion by 2023, and a company spokesperson said nearly two-thirds of the retailer’s current inventory is made, assembled or grown domestically, CNBC reported.
Walmart also stated that the company is “on track” to achieve the 2013 pledge and has identified six priority categories on which to focus its newest investments, including textiles, plastics, small electrical appliances, food processing, pharmaceutical and medical supplies and Goods Not For Resale.
Specifically, Furner pointed to one of Walmart’s suppliers, South Carolina-based Techtronic Industries, as an example of more businesses “choosing to establish their manufacturing operations in the United States.”
According to Fox Business, Techtronic Industries employs more than 1,500 people and assembles products that are sold in Walmart stores and on Walmart.com. The company plans to double its headcount at its Anderson facility within the next two years.
Cox Media Group
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