Walmart to invest $ 350 billion in U.S.-made goods

In the next decade, Walmart said it will spend $ 350 billion on goods made, grown or assembled in the U.S., according to a company post on Wednesday (March 3) by President and CEO John Furner.

Furner estimated in the post that the cash injection will lead to the creation of more than 750,000 new American jobs.

“We identified six priority categories to focus on: plastics; textiles; small electrical appliances; food processing; pharmaceutical and medical supplies; and Goods Not For Resale (GNFR) ”, said Furner in the post. “This commitment will mean some more impacts, including around 100 million metric tons of CO2 emissions avoided through the supply closest to our customers.”

Furner said in the post that Walmart will also increase spending and support for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and several vendors and vendors based in the United States. In addition, it plans to give 9,000 business owners a chance to become Walmart suppliers and sellers.

The “American Lighthouses” project will help companies in regions of the country with “top-down barriers to US production,” noted Furner in the post.

“By bringing together key regions and multiple stakeholders, we can make the supply chain more efficient,” said Furner in the post. “The goal is to bring back US manufacturing in a sustainable and long-term way.”

Walmart’s fourth-quarter results, released last month, showed a 7.3% revenue increase to $ 152.1 billion. The company said it plans to accelerate its investments in key digital areas and increase automation and supply chain capacity.

In an interview with PYMNTS, Tony Uphoff, president and CEO of Thomas’ product discovery and supplier sourcing platform, said the pandemic has been the biggest opportunity for US manufacturers in 70 years.

He added that “as industry 4.0 begins to develop, you will see a renaissance and a resurgence in global manufacturing, but particularly in North America, it will be dramatic.”