American multinational retail firm Walmart today announced its plans to launch two new Walmart Global Tech hub locations in Toronto, Ontario Canada, and Atlanta, GA, USA, in an effort to continue accelerating technology and further digital capabilities across the retail sector.
Walmart says that Walmart Global Tech plans to make Toronto one of its larger hubs, with hundreds of new jobs over time. Walmart Global Tech is the corporate team at Walmart that is responsible for developing and managing the foundational technologies on which customer experiences are built, including cloud, data, enterprise architecture, DevOps, infrastructure, and security.
“Walmart’s decision to make Toronto the home of one of its larger tech hubs with hundreds of jobs to come is another vote of confidence in our city’s thriving tech sector,” said Toronto mayor John Tory. “As mayor, I am committed to supporting our technology sector and continuing to encourage companies to locate here and hire here. This is all part of our non-stop effort to ensure that Toronto comes back stronger than ever.”
The hub in Toronto will tap into Canada’s local tech talent pipeline. The initial hiring phase is expected to include 45 full-time roles in software development, technical program management, and product management. Initial hiring in Atlanta is expected to include 140 new full-time roles such as data scientists and software engineers.
“Canada has a dynamic and world leading tech community powered by talented people and innovation that is recognized on a global scale,” said Nicolai Salcedo, chief technology and data officer, Walmart Canada. “It’s inspiring to see Walmart recognize the Canadian tech community and invest in further developing local talent with new opportunities that will be brought through this new tech hub.”
With the addition of these two hubs, Walmart Global Tech will have 16 technology hubs, including teams in Seattle, WA and Chennai, India that launched last year. The launch of a technology hub in Toronto is in addition to Walmart’s longstanding local commitment. In 2020, Walmart Canada announced a C$3.5 billion investment to make the online and in-store experience more convenient for Walmart Canada’s customers. Deploying the latest technology throughout the business, from supply chain to associates, is a major part of the investment.