Walmart converting Atlanta facility to help third-party sellers

FILE - Shown is a Walmart location in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021.  Walmart is teaming up with a fertility startup to offer benefits under its insurance plan that will help its workers expand their families. The nation’s largest retailer and private employer said Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022,  it’s partnering with New York-based Kindbody to offer benefits such as in vitro fertilization as well as fertility testing regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.  (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - Shown is a Walmart location in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. Walmart is teaming up with a fertility startup to offer benefits under its insurance plan that will help its workers expand their families. The nation’s largest retailer and private employer said Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, it’s partnering with New York-based Kindbody to offer benefits such as in vitro fertilization as well as fertility testing regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Walmart Inc.'s conversion of an Atlanta fulfillment center into a Walmart Fulfillment Services facility will help its third-party sellers grow their businesses, the company said.

Many Walmart marketplace sellers who use its fulfillment services to store, pack and ship merchandise see 50% sales growth on average, said Karisa Sprague, senior vice president for Walmart U.S.' fulfillment center operations.

The Bentonville-based retailer is enhancing training, processes, equipment and the building's infrastructure to ready the Atlanta facility for its new function, Sprague said. The company's goal is to finish the conversion by early this fall, she said.

The closing of the fulfillment center led to the loss of 1,458 jobs at the facility, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification. The Department of Labor requires large companies to notify its employees 60 days before a plant closing or mass layoff.

A Walmart spokesman told Reuters that the workers are getting help with job searches and some were re-hired at other Walmart facilities.

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