Pasadena, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/10/2011 -- Wal-Mart officials announced alongside South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley that the company would be bringing 4,000 jobs to South Carolina. The announcement was made at a press conference in West Columbia.

The move is part of the retail giant’s plan to expand existing stores as well as add new ones. The company is going to invest $400 million for its expansion in the state. Wal-Mart already employs around 28,000 people in its existing retail and distribution centers in South Carolina.

Wal-Mart CEO Bill Simon has said that the dozens of new stores will be opened across the state. Simon also said that the jobs that are going to be created will give out competitive wages and benefits. The company says that the average Wal-Mart worker in South Carolina earns $12.80 per hour.

The Wal-Mart announcement comes just one week after Amazon decided to drop plans to build a massive distribution center in South Carolina. The Amazon center would have created around 1,200 jobs. But the company was denied the sales tax exemption that it sought by the S.C. House of Representatives. Amazon completely pulled out of the project after the vote.
Gov. Haley has said that Wal-Mart has not been offered any special tax break and the deal had been in the making for several months.

RetailCrossing, a job aggregator website focusing only on the retail industry related jobs has been able to compile over 27,000 jobs so far this week. These 27,000 jobs range from stocker to floor manager and other managerial positions.