On April 13th this year, Walmart decided to shut down five of its Supercenters, literally overnight and to the (bad) surprise of its customers and staff. The stores concerned were Tulsa, Oklahoma, Midland and Livingston, Texas, Pico Rivera, California and Brandon, Florida. A total of 2,200 employees were affected. They were offered a two months paid leave and the possibility to apply for jobs at other locations of the supermarket chain.
Meanwhile, the reasons of these unexpected closures were surrounded with rumors. If the company's official statement involved massive plumbing issues to fix in these five supercenters, various allegations suggested other reasons. For many employees, its a punishment for asking higher wages and being on strike. For some people, the closures are related to Jade Helm 15, a vast military exercise that took place between July 15th and September 15th this year.
Whatever the reasons, the fact is that four of the five stores reopened last week with new layout and reorganised departments. According to Walmart, the fifth location, Brandon, Florida, is due to open in time for the festive season this year.
*Photo: Walmart Wall
News in the same category
The Gap, the once cool clothing brand is facing hard times and has to close 175 of its stores in North America. Europe is on the list too.
Birkenstock has expanded it's reach by opening a second U.S. location in Venice Beach, Calif.
Costco is one of the world’s largest wholesalers that is based in America as its origin but also exists in a number of countries.
Wayfair has just announced that its first full-service store is due to open in Massachusetts in the fall of 2019.
