Home Depot has announced plans to hire 1,000 techies — several hundred of them in Atlanta — in a dramatic expansion of its technology muscle.
The surge of hiring adds to a technology workforce currently at 2,800, according to Paul Mayer, manager of the company’s tech communications.
The hiring will be spread among Atlanta, Dallas and Austin, said Paul Mayer, manager of technology communications at the company Home Depot.
“We’re looking to add up to a few hundred positions in Atlanta, starting now and hiring throughout the year,” he said Wednesday.
The $100 billion-a-year, 39-year-old company has about 400,000 employees and nearly 2,300 stores, most of them in the United States.
In December, Home Depot announced plans to invest $11.1 billion over three years in improving the experience of customers both in stores and online, as well strengthening the systems of delivering products and managing its workforce.
The company on Wednesday touted its ranking among the 50 most innovative companies by Fast Company magazine.
"With the rapidly changing retail environment, this is easily one of the most exciting places to work in technology," said Matt Carey, Home Depot's chief information officer. "Our team is building some of the most advanced software anywhere to help customers shop whenever, wherever and however they want."
Like many retailers, the company faces the near-ubiquitous challenge of Amazon, as well as Wal-Mart both online and in brick and mortar. But analysts have praised Home Depot for its aggressive use of the internet, with online shopping accounting for a growing share of revenues and acting as a stepping stone for customers who eventually go to a store.
Among the technologies used by the company are cloud computing, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, big data, machine learning, and voice and visual recognition.
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