Four months after Walmart announced plans to spend US $6 billion to bring nine more of its stores to Mexico, the retail giant’s CEO and several top executives met with President Claudia Sheinbaum and emerged from the meeting pledging compliance with the administration’s comprehensive strategy for economic development known as Plan México.
“We met at the National Palace with Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart Inc., and his team,” Sheinbaum wrote on her official X account on Tuesday. “They reaffirm their investments in our country and their commitment to joining Plan México.”
Nos reunimos en Palacio Nacional con Doug McMillon, presidente y director ejecutivo de Walmart Inc., y su equipo. Confirman las inversiones que tienen en nuestro país y su compromiso de integrarse al Plan México. pic.twitter.com/cgBgx3q64p
— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) August 5, 2025
Walmart is well-positioned to support Plan México. Of its 33,000 suppliers, 85% are small and medium-sized Mexican companies, and 83% of the products it sells in the country are made in Mexico. That fits nicely with Plan México’s emphasis on domestic production and reduced dependence on imports, especially from Asia.
Local job creation is also a priority of Plan México, and Walmart’s announced investment is expected to bring 5,500 more direct jobs to the 200,000 people it now employs in Mexico.
Besides the opening of nine new stores in its Bodega Aurrerá, Sam’s Club, Walmart Supercenter, and Walmart Express formats, the investment will include the construction of two distribution centers in the state of Tlaxcala and the Bajío region. These centers will incorporate artificial intelligence and advanced robotics to optimize logistics.
The Walmart CEO’s meeting with Sheinbaum follows the resignation of Ignacio Caride as general director of Walmart Mexico and Central America last week.
Cristian Barrientos Pozo, current general director of Walmart Chile, will assume the position of general director for the Mexico and Central America unit on an interim basis while the company seeks a permanent replacement.
With reports from Infobae and El Sol de México
