Walmart Announced A Giant New Quebec Shipping Hub Promising Faster Service & More Products

Walmart is building a new "fulfillment centre" outside Montreal, promising the new facility will "offer better product availability and quicker service" for both online and in-store shoppers.

The planned 457,000-square-foot warehouse in Vaudreuil-Dorion will serve as a delivery hub for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, with enough capacity to store 500,000 items and ship out 20 million products every year, Walmart said in a press release. It will be the company's first such depot in the province and is set to open in 2024.

Walmart described the planned structure as "high-tech" and "powered by cutting-edge logistics technology to achieve productivity with less physical effort." The superstore also claims it will "minimize waste and reduce transportation costs."

Does all that mean more robots and fewer employees? Perhaps. But Walmart said it still plans to hire as many as 225 people to work at the centre. It will accept job applications online.

"This important investment is the latest example of Walmart's commitment to Quebec," Walmart Canada Regional Vice President for Quebec Cyrille Ballereau said in the release.

"We are investing for growth in Quebec and creating jobs for Quebecers to better serve our customers. Quebecers will see refreshed stores, faster service and more options available in-store and online."

Walmart says it's committing $100 million to build the warehouse, part of a $1 billion infrastructure investment in 2022. Earlier this year, it also announced a new "state-of-the-art" supercentre, complete with a greenhouse roof, at Montreal's Marché Central. That store is supposed to open in 2023.

Other nationwide store upgrades include renovated bathrooms, paint jobs and better integration of spaces for online orders.