Walmart CEO: New Headquarters to Bring In ‘Natural Light – Yes, Natural Light’

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon announced to employees on Friday that the company plans to do away with the “inefficient” current campus of its corporate headquarters – a sprawling collection of more than 20 buildings in Bentonville, Arkansas – and replace it with new facilities that will encourage a more efficient business.

The current buildings are “expensive and inefficient to maintain, costing millions of dollars of accelerating upkeep every year,” wrote McMillon in a company blog post.

The new headquarters, integrated into the city’s trail system, will encourage employees to walk or bike to work. Employees will also see “improved parking, meal services, fitness, and natural light – yes, natural light,” he wrote.

The new headquarters will help the company “maintain our commitment to fiscal and environmental responsibility,” according to McMillon.

Walmart has been acquiring land in the area, and expects the new campus to take as many as seven years to complete.

Building a more efficient campus for its corporate headquarters is in line with the company’s environmental commitments. Last November, Walmart announced that it was “renewing our commitment to using our strengths as a large global retailer to do our part in helping to address [environmental] challenges. Our Leadership 2025 agenda reaffirmed and extended our aspiration to help increase economic opportunity, enhance sustainability of value chains and strengthen local community resilience.”