Wal-Mart chief says retailer won’t abandon Maryland expansion plans

Wal-Mart chief says retailer won’t abandon Maryland expansion plans

   Wal-Mart Stores president and chief executive officer Lee Scott said his company has no plans to abandon store expansion in Maryland, despite the state assembly’s recent passage of controversial legislation requiring the retail giant to spend a certain percentage of its income on employee health care.

   “If we closed our doors in Maryland, a lot of things would happen, and none of them good for working families of this state,” Scott wrote in an editorial published in today’s Washington Post.

   He noted that Wal-Mart buys $678 million worth of goods and services from 667 Maryland suppliers.

   “We will build more stores, create more jobs, offer even more affordable heath care, generate more tax revenue, do more business with suppliers and give more money to local charities,” Scott said.

   Wal-Mart also reportedly will maintain its plan to build a large distribution center on the Maryland Eastern Shore.