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
One of the best and still growing shopping destinations in the US is the Dior outlets that are now and some yet to be opened and some now opening.
Pennsylvania is due to get it's very first Lidl. The German grocery store is due to open this month in the city and will bring its huge range of cut-price groceries along with it.
From this fall in New York, Target is going to bring magical characters like Mickey Mouse and Elsa to shoppers visiting some of their stores.
U.S. retailers have recently announced 6,000 store closures to date which is already more than the total for last year.