The morning Walmart announced raise increases for its employees and expanded benefits for full-time workers, several Sam's Club employees around the country found themselves without a job without notice on Thursday. Reports are flooding in of Sam's Club closings across the country, including several stores in the Houston and San Antonio area.
The locations of the Sam's Club closings in the Houston area are, so far, the store on the South Loop that's across from NRG Park and the store on Westheimer at Eldridge Parkway, according to KHOU. The news outlet noticed that a new store in New Caney was taken down from the Sam's Club website, though the outlet has not yet confirmed the closing of that location. Employees notified KHOU with reports that the stores closed without notice and "they only learned of the closure as they arrived for work early Thursday."
Shortly after KHOU's announcement, the San Antonio Express-News revealed that a Sam's Club location on the North Side of San Antonio was also closed on Thursday morning, January 11. The Sam's Club location on San Pedro Avenue will follow suit, closing permanently on January 26. The location at the North Side is temporarily closed today, but will reopen Friday, January 12.
Concerned customers took to Twitter to question the brand, and Sam's Club responded with a tweet of their own, stating, "After a thorough review of our existing portfolio, we've decided to close a series of clubs and better align our locations with our strategy. Closing subs is never easy and we're committed to working with impacted members and associates through this transition."
After a thorough review of our existing portfolio, we've decided to close a series of clubs and better align our locations with our strategy. Closing clubs is never easy and we're committed to working with impacted members and associates through this transition.
— Sam's Club (@SamsClub) January 11, 2018
Further, Texas is not the only state where the closures occured. Nationwide, local news outlets in Texas, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Georgia, New York, Illinois, Maryland, and Tennessee are reporting immediate closures. It seems that few employees were notified before the closings, as the outcry from social media has begun pouring in.
This Facebook comment from an employee responding to the news seems to tell it all.
Sam's Club stores tend to employee about 150 people. Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield assured news outlets that employees at closed locations will be offered available positions at area Sam's Club and Walmart locations, and will receive compensation for at least 60 days following Thursday's immediate closures.
The Full List of Closures
Business Insider compiled a full list of the stores closing immediately as of Thursday morning.
- 8801 Old Seward Hwy, Anchorage, AK 99515
- 69 Pavilions Dr, Manchester, CT 06042
- 355 FL-436, Fern Park, FL 32730
- 5135 S Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33611
- 2994 Turner Hill Rd, Lithonia, GA 30038
- 460 S Weber Rd, Romeoville, IL 60446
- 3015 W 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46268
- 10859 E Washington St, Indianapolis, IN 46229
- 4024 Elkhart Rd #1, Goshen, IN 46526
- 9598 Cortana Pl, Baton Rouge, LA 70815
- 9750 Reisterstown Rd, Owings Mills, MD 21117
- 81 International Dr S, Budd Lake, NJ 07828
- 2649 Erie Blvd E, Syracuse, NY 13224
- 720 Fairmount Ave, Jamestown, NY 14701
- 700 Elmridge Center Dr, Rochester, NY 14626
- 1600 Marketplace Dr, Rochester, NY 14623
- 4825 Marburg Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45209
- 9570 Fields Ertel Rd, Loveland, OH 45140
- 1805 Getwell Rd, Memphis, TN 38111
- 1615 S Loop W, Houston, TX 77054
- 13331 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77077
- 901 S Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057
- 1101 Outlet Collection Way, Auburn, WA 98001
- 13550 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133
To follow as they update the list, check out their report on the closures.
The Walmart Pay Increase
Here's how we're sharing our tax savings with our associates: https://t.co/aYKBcwxntM pic.twitter.com/lWUvtFGn9F
— Walmart Newsroom (@WalmartNewsroom) January 11, 2018
On January 11, the morning of the closing, Walmart announced it would raise starting wages for U.S. store workers and offer employee bonuses following the tax cuts in Washington, as reported by CBS News. The Bentonville, Arkansas retailer detailed plans to raise the starting wage for employees from $9 to $11 per hour, along with offering some employees bonuses totaling up to $1,000.
Those employees include both full- and part-time hourly associates that have been with the company for 20 years or more. As CBS News reported, the new wages will begin on February 17, 2018 and will apply to hourly associates at U.S. stores, Sam's Clubs, logistics and Home Office. The company is also granting 10 weeks maternity leave, along with six weeks paid parental leave to full-time hourly associates. This also includes leave for parents who adopt. Walmart will also contribute $5,000 to the cost of adoption for eligible employees.
However, this news of pay increases seems to be overshadowed by the outpouring of closure reports for Sam's Clubs locations across the country. While six states are reporting closures so far, we'll continue to keep this story updated as more information becomes available.
This story was originally published on January 11, 2018.
