Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) rarely makes the news for anything positive on its labor relations. The company employs over 2 million people, and it has become routine that Walmart is under fire over labor relations around pay, hours, benefits, terminations, and the like. So what about a claim that Walmart can help create 1 million jobs in the next 10 years — outside of its own company?
The company issued a press release on Thursday with this claim, coming from its “Year Beginning Meeting” in Orlando, Florida. Again, the job creation projection is not of Walmart employees but in outside manufacturing and related services here in America.
Walmart has often been credited as being one of the key driving forces for companies sending their manufacturing operations overseas in the last two decades, where labor is often far cheaper than it is here. But Walmart today was talking up the U.S. manufacturing base and local sourcing outside of just produce, as well as the efforts being made to broaden out U.S. manufacturing.
The company is talking about less lead times and quicker turnaround to meet customer demand and a much more efficient supply chain. Here is the main point that stands out from CEO Bill Simon commentary:
We’ve pledged to spend $250 billion on U.S. products over the next ten years. The Boston Consulting Group predicts that this commitment will create 1 million jobs. Since last year I’ve been making the rounds talking to just about anyone who’ll listen about this opportunity to re-establish a manufacturing base in the U.S. Many of you were here a year ago when we challenged you to think about making your products for the U.S. market right here in America.
It looks like the first initiative will be in Walmart putting its patio furniture out for bid, looking for suppliers to make it in America. The company promised more requests for proposals will be coming soon as well.
Walmart announced that it, along with the Walmart Foundation and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, is also launching the $10 million U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund. Applications from eligible non-profits are due by April 22, 2014 for grants of $100,000 and more.
If this was another 1 million jobs inside of Walmart it might not be that great of an opportunity due to low wages. This is outside of Walmart’s stores. Time will have to be the judge of this initiative.
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