SUNNYVALE >> Walmart has started moving employees into a tech hub where the retail giant could employ thousands of workers in its digital units.

In 2023, Walmart.com subleased all of a four-building Sunnyvale tech campus, a deal that provided a lift for the South Bay office sector.

“This strategic investment underscores the company’s commitment to shaping the future of retail through technology,” Walmart said in a statement provided to this news organization.

The first two of the buildings in which workers are being moved to together total 719,000 square feet. The addresses are 1345 and 1375 Crossman Ave., according to the retailer.

“This space is a reflection of everything we believe in,” said Suresh Kumar, Walmart global chief technology officer and chief development officer. “When you invest in people, culture and innovation, great things happen.”

When the third and fourth buildings open up, Walmart will fill them with more workers.

“The first two office buildings will house roughly 2,000 associates initially, with more associates moving in as additional buildings open,” Walmart stated.

An estimated 3,600 people could work in the four buildings, given the square footage and type of office properties at the Sunnyvale tech campus.

“This investment in Sunnyvale strengthens our presence in a global hub of innovation and further accelerates Walmart’s growth into a people-led, tech-powered retailer,” Kumar said.

The new tech hub in Sunnyvale is emerging at the same time that Walmart has been trimming jobs in the Bay Area. Last year, Walmart disclosed plans to slash 568 jobs by August 2024.

That downsizing consisted of 388 jobs in San Bruno and another 180 at a complex on California Avenue near downtown Sunnyvale. This year, Walmart said it would cut another 77 jobs in San Bruno by June 2025.

Walmart subleased the four Sunnyvale buildings from Meta Platforms in late 2023.

In 2021, Meta Platforms leased the entire campus.