Walmart to pump $350 million into Cullman distribution center

Walmart will spend $350 million to outfit its regional distribution center in Cullman with robotics and artificial intelligence programming in order to nearly double the number of products it can ship to stores.

The project is part of a broader renovation of the retail chain's 42 regional distribution centers in the U.S.

Center General Manager Ken Caviness said the project "isn't just an investment in our facility, but also in our associates, our community and our future."

"Walmart's Cullman distribution center has been a pillar in our community for the last 40 years," he said. "Adding robotics, automation and AI-powered software systems to this facility will revolutionize an already impressive operation, fundamentally changing the way we distribute products to stores."

When completed, the center will use a combination of workers, robotics and massive storage systems to increase the speed at which the retailer sends merchandise to stores.

"This automation investment by Walmart confirms that Cullman has been a great partner community," Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs said. "No industry here can match the jobs created by Walmart over the past 40 years and this investment guarantees they will continue providing quality jobs for the foreseeable future."

Walmart operates five distribution centers, 144 retail stores and employs 41,029 associates in Alabama.

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