NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it hopes to build several dozen stores in Chicago over the next five years under a new plan aimed at assuaging the concerns of union and political leaders.
The company said the new plan, called 'the Chicago Community Investment Partnership' will lead to 10,000 Walmart jobs in Chicago and 2,000 unionized construction jobs.
Walmart has long been trying to expand in Chicago, but has faced concerns from organized labor and politicians about what are seen as anti-union practices.
The new jobs will pay competitive wages, the world's largest retailer said in a statement.
'Our city is facing a number of challenges, but most of all, we need good jobs,' Alderman Anthony Beale of Chicago's said in a statement released by Walmart.
(Reporting by Brad Dorfman; editing by Andre Grenon)
((bradley.dorfman@thomsonreuters.com; +1 312 408 8133; Reuters Messaging: bradley.dorfman.reuters.com@reuters.net; )) Keywords: WALMART/CHICAGO (See http://blogs.reuters.com/shop- talk/ for Shop Talk -- Reuters' retail and consumer blog.) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The company said the new plan, called 'the Chicago Community Investment Partnership' will lead to 10,000 Walmart jobs in Chicago and 2,000 unionized construction jobs.
Walmart has long been trying to expand in Chicago, but has faced concerns from organized labor and politicians about what are seen as anti-union practices.
The new jobs will pay competitive wages, the world's largest retailer said in a statement.
'Our city is facing a number of challenges, but most of all, we need good jobs,' Alderman Anthony Beale of Chicago's said in a statement released by Walmart.
(Reporting by Brad Dorfman; editing by Andre Grenon)
((bradley.dorfman@thomsonreuters.com; +1 312 408 8133; Reuters Messaging: bradley.dorfman.reuters.com@reuters.net; )) Keywords: WALMART/CHICAGO (See http://blogs.reuters.com/shop- talk/ for Shop Talk -- Reuters' retail and consumer blog.) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.