Walmart Inc.'s Canadian unit is hiring 10,000 workers as part the $3.5 billion investment announced earlier this year to help expand the business.
Walmart Canada, based in Mississauga, Ontario, said in a news release Friday that the new hires will work in stores or warehouses, or as truck drivers. With more than 90,000 workers currently, Walmart Canada is one of the nation's largest employers. It has 408 stores.
For the first time, applicants can text a number to reach the application website, the company said.
The company said in July that it would invest $3.5 billion over the next five years to expand its capacity; bring new technology to stores and remodel 150 of them; and build two distribution centers.
The investment "will lead to the use of advanced technologies working alongside associates in a state-of-the-art facility to move products as quickly as possible," the company said. That will "make the online and in-store shopping experience simpler, faster and more convenient for Walmart's customers."
Walmart Canada is one of the largest units of its Bentonville-based parent's international division.
-- Serenah McKay
Texarkana chamber sets business expo
The Texarkana USA Regional Chamber of Commerce said it will host a small-business expo from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.
Chamber President Mike Malone said the goal of the event is to connect businesses with the community in a fun outdoor environment.
"Without our small and medium-sized businesses our community is not the same," he said in a statement Friday. "We have to support each other."
The expo is scheduled to feature 30 vendor booths and a food truck.
Around 5:30 p.m., attendees can bet on which mayor, from the Arkansas side or the Texas side, can win at several competitions, including pie-eating and steer-roping. The money will be donated to a local charity, the chamber said.
"If you're looking to network, grab a bite to eat or entertain the kids then make your way downtown Thursday evening," chamber spokesman Natalie Haywood said.
The expo will be on Main Street in Texarkana, Texas, at the front of the Perot Theatre and Pecan Point.
-- Nathan Owens
Arkansas Index ends day with loss of 1.16
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Friday at 438.72, down 1.16.
U.S. stocks rose Friday as traders bet lawmakers are closer to providing additional fiscal stimulus to help the economy.
Only five Arkansas Index stocks posted gains Friday.
USA Truck shares rose 1.2%. Murphy Oil shares fell 5.4%.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.