Walmart to create 200 jobs in Moncton with new distribution centre

Walmart announced Thursday it's building an expansive distribution centre in Moncton next year, its first in Atlantic Canada. 

The distribution centre will supply fresh and frozen groceries to all 43 Walmart locations in Atlantic Canada. 

The development will create 200 jobs within the centre and require engineers and construction workers to design and build it by fall 2022. 

"Moncton allows us to be in reach of all those 43 stores, including Newfoundland.  It's also closer to where all of our products come from," said Tom Flaim, Walmart regional vice president.

"It was a tough decision, there's a lot of locations that kind of fit the bill, but Moncton came up to be the most centrally located." 

Walmart is spending $56 million on the 221,000-square-foot centre, which will sit on a 19 acres plot of land at 125 Frenette Ave.

Flaim said Walmart is in the tender process to find a construction company, which they hope can begin work on the distribution centre this summer.

"Obviously, 200 new jobs is a great bit of news, especially as we struggle to emerge from COVID-19," said John Wishart, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton.   

Wishart said an investment of that size in the city's industrial park is a "major victory," and may entice other leading brands to finance projects in the region.  

He said Moncton's central location was likely a deciding factor in Walmart's decision, which the retailer is promoting as a move that prioritizes environmental sustainability. 

Walmart said the project will eliminate millions of kilometres of truck transportation from the brand's supply chain.

"There's a saying that you can't create location — you either have it or you don't," said Wishart. 

"It's one of those natural attributes that you need to leverage, and I think that's really played in Moncton's favour."  

He said Moncton's location makes sense for distribution centres in terms of reducing costs. That's most likely what drew Walmart to the area, instead of a bigger city such as Halifax.