Walmart to open two tech hubs, add 5,000 employees
by March 15, 2022 1:03 pm 1,701 views
As Walmart continues its attempt to become a technology company there is a growing need for tech talent. Walmart said Tuesday (March 15) it plans to open technology hubs in Atlanta and Toronto and add 5,000 employees to the global tech unit over the next 12 months.
The Bentonville-based retailer said the two sites are known for having technology talent and are positioned away from other hubs Walmart runs in Bentonville, Silicon Valley, Austin, Dallas, Charlotte, Seattle, Mexico City and other locations. Walmart said the two new centers will give it 16 global technology hubs.
“I am always in awe of how many lives and communities are changed by the work we do at Walmart. The cutting-edge tech we build makes life better for customers and members, further empowers our associates and unlocks new value for our business. Just as our tech stack is the foundation of every tech-enabled app, product or service, our associates enable all that we achieve with technology,” said Suresh Kumar, Walmart chief technology officer.
Kumar said the global tech division is the fastest growing corporate team at Walmart with more than 20,000 employees. He said the technologists are on the ground floor of game-changing innovations that impact all aspects of the business.
Walmart’s global tech unit develops and manages the foundational technologies that support customer interactions. Kumar said the unit is also a world-class enterprise services organization that develops solutions to help 2.3 million Walmart and Sam’s Club employees work and live better. He said the global tech division grew its workforce by 26% in 2021, and is focused on hiring cybersecurity professionals, architects, developers, software engineers, data scientists, data engineers, technical program managers and product managers.
“Our growth includes entering new locations and expanding our presence in communities we call home,” Kumar said. “We strategically chose Atlanta and Toronto as our newest tech hubs because of their growing tech presence, connection to Walmart and broad, diverse talent.”
He said Atlanta is a major location for Walmart and the cybersecurity industry, with growing strengths in software engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science. Walmart’s first hiring phase in Atlanta includes 140 new full time tech workers. Kumar said Toronto is home to 26% of Canada’s tech workforce. Each year, 25,000 students in the area graduate from STEM-related fields. Walmart will begin with 45 full-time jobs in Toronto, primarily software developers and product managers. Kumar said the Toronto hub will add several hundred new jobs over the next 12 months.
Kumar said the new tech hires will work virtually in the near-term and will eventually transition to a hybrid way of working as Walmart identifies physical space for routine collaboration, personal development, networking and culture building.