BETHLEHEM, Pa., July 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Walmart today
held a sneak preview event at its new fulfillment center in
Bethlehem, Pa. The facility, one
of two Walmart centers in the Lehigh
Valley dedicated to filling online orders, is part of a
next-generation network to support the company's rapidly growing
e-commerce business.
The new 1.2 million sq. ft. facility in the Majestic Bethlehem
Center, which features state-of-the-art automation and warehousing
systems, created nearly 400 full-time jobs in the Lehigh Valley. Roughly 200 additional jobs
were created at the second Walmart fulfillment center in the Lehigh
Valley Industrial Park VII. Walmart's combined centers are expected
to generate nearly 1,000 new jobs over the next few years.
"We are grateful to the Lehigh
Valley for welcoming us with open arms, and we're proud of
the role we've played in strengthening this community with the jobs
and community support we're bringing to the area," said
Mike McGraw, general manager of the
Bethlehem fulfillment center.
"This project will give workers new opportunities while helping
to grow the economy throughout the entire Lehigh Valley," said Governor Tom Wolf. "New business expansion like this
shows why it is such an exciting time to live and work in the
growing and vibrant Lehigh Valley
community."
Supporting the Lehigh Valley
Community
"I welcome Walmart to the City of Bethlehem and Lehigh Valley Industrial
Park VII," said Bethlehem Mayor
Robert Donchez. "I applaud Walmart
for its commitment to creating sustainable jobs and strengthening
this community."
The grand-opening celebration featured donations to local
organizations, including a $31,000
check to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley as part of Walmart's "Fight
Hunger. Spark Change." campaign. Through this initiative, more than
$400,000 will be distributed to food
banks throughout Pennsylvania this
summer.
As part of Walmart's and the Walmart Foundation's $2 billion commitment to fight hunger through
2015, Walmart stores in Pennsylvania donated approximately 12.9
million pounds of food, or the equivalent of 10.8 million meals, in
fiscal year 2014.
Gov. Wolf and his family have been personally involved in the
fight against hunger locally and across Pennsylvania. The governor has donated tens of
thousands of dollars to Pennsylvania food banks, and he and his family
routinely volunteer time to help out and serve food at local
pantries.
New Centers Provide Faster Deliveries at Lower Cost
This new facility is part of a network — Walmart distribution
centers, existing e-commerce facilities, 4,500 Walmart stores and a
world-class transportation fleet — that ships packages faster and
more efficiently, while offering customers more choices for how
they want to receive their online orders.
"This Bethlehem facility is part of a dense, multi-faceted
network that combines new buildings, existing fulfillment assets,
and our portfolio of stores to create thousands of points of
distribution," said Neil Ashe, chief
executive officer, Walmart Global eCommerce. "All of these elements
working together enhance our ability to get more products to
customers faster, at a lower cost, and provide more choices for
shoppers."
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps
people around the world save money and live better – anytime and
anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile
devices. Each week, more than 250 million customers and members
visit our 11,462 stores under 71 banners in 27 countries and
e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2015 sales of
nearly $486 billion, Walmart employs
more than 2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a
leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment
opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by
visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook
at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter
at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are
available
at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.
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SOURCE Walmart