At the company’s annual meeting last week, Mike Duke, president and chief executive of Wal-Mart Stores, advised shareholders that the company endeavored to provide better services to customers on a worldwide basis as a local store.
Furthermore, the maneuver will provide an avenue to spread its best practices and effectively utilize its global supply network.
"We need to recruit the best talent and identify the best talent in our ranks," Duke told analysts and investors at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Fayetteville, Ark. The exact number of jobs to be created in the United States, and the timing of the hirings were not specified by the company.
Employee talent will be key to making that strategy work, the head of the company said in a company statement.
"Just over the next five years, we'll create 500,000 jobs around the world. We need to recruit the best talent and identify the best talent in our ranks. Then we need to develop leaders and help them become global citizens," Duke said.
The retailer has more than 8,400 retail units in 15 countries and employs more than 2 million people worldwide.
Wal-Mart also announced a new scheme to repurchase $15 billion of its shares, which replaces a $15 billion repurchase plan announced a year ago. The company said $10.3 billion in stock had been purchased as a result of the prior program.
American actor, singer, and Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx hosted the event, as Wal-Mart's annual meeting was again a star-studded affair.
