Walmart is bringing over 600 jobs to Olathe via its beef packaging facility
Walmart is bringing over 600 jobs to Olathe with the opening of its case-ready Angus beef facility.
The beef packaging plant, a $257 million investment, will employ maintenance technicians, quality technicians, administrative staff and production associates, according to senior site director Steve Grant.
Most positions are production associates. Employees in those roles will work on the operating floor, slicing and packaging beef, Grant explained.
As of now, the team has already hired 158 employees. Over 400 jobs are actively hiring, and pay starts at $20 per hour, Grant said.
In addition to jobs, the facility is also, of course, bringing Angus beef to tables across the Midwest. Grant said the first distribution of beef will be to the Kansas City metro area.
The Olathe facility is the first beef packaging plant owned and operated by Walmart. Grant explained this model eliminates the third party involved in beef packaging, leading to lower production costs.
“We’re going to be able to provide a lower cost premium Angus cut selection throughout the Midwest,” Grant told The Star. “So we’re really excited about that and really glad to be a part of that.”
Walmart facility’s opening ceremony
On Friday morning, a ribbon-cutting ceremony kicked off the opening of the facility, which covers over 300,000 square feet. To put that in perspective, the building could fit just over five football fields.
After the national anthem and the “Walmart cheer,” elected officials, Walmart leadership and those working at the site gave speeches to commemorate the opening.
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation also presented $90,000 to local nonprofit organizations, including Special Olympics Kansas, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City, Friends In Service of Heroes and Mayor Bacon’s Book Club.
In his speech, Olathe Mayor John Bacon thanked Walmart for being a leader and giving back to the community.
Walmart supports the Olathe Mayor’s Children’s Fund, fire department, police department and parks, Bacon said.
“Walmart has been an important community partner here in Olathe for many, many years,” Bacon said. “To have them further invest in our city and create so many new jobs is just outstanding.”
Both Bacon and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly acknowledged that Walmart’s location choice for the facility reflects a broader trend of positive development in the area.
Kelly, who described herself as a “major beef eater,” said the plant is evidence that “businesses believe in the outstanding economic environment we’ve created here in Kansas.”
“I would like to reach over to the people on the other side of the river and suggest that they need to take a really good look at making Olathe home,” Kelly told The Star.