Walmart CEO Bill Simon announced today that his company will provide a $10 million fund to the The U.S. Conference of Mayors, with the goal of bringing back jobs to America's cities.
"If we want to grow manufacturing and help rebuild America's middle class, we need the brightest minds in our universities, in our think tanks, and in our towns to tackle obstacles to U.S. manufacturing," said Simon. "The $10 million fund will identify and award leaders in manufacturing innovation and help us all work together to create opportunity."
Simon spoke at the 82nd Winter Meeting of The U.S. Conference of Mayors taking place in Washington D.C. He joined USCM President Mesa (AZ) Mayor Scott Smith to discuss new ways to spur job creation and economic growth in America's cities and metropolitan areas, many of which are still plagued with high unemployment.
"Mayors know more than most that job creation is the life-blood of any city,” said USCM CEO Tom Cochran said. “We are pleased to be working with Walmart to bring new jobs to America's cities through innovation, creativity and old-fashioned ingenuity. Mayors have always worked hard to foster innovation and bring forth new ways of thinking because they know that innovation leads to jobs, and jobs help to create strong cities. Now, America's families will experience first-hand the tangible economic benefits of our mayors' consistent efforts to usher local growth."
Specifically, the $10 million fund for innovation, which will launch in March, features:
- Walmart and The U.S. Conference of Mayors will collaborate to launch a five-year fund.
- The fund will provide grants to innovators in the manufacturing sector and seeks to create new processes, ideas, and jobs that support America's growing manufacturing footprint.