Bentonville, AR — Sam’s Club shut down multiple locations on Thursday, and some employees and customers say it did so without warning.
Walmart, which owns Sam’s Club, did not respond to numerous requests for comment.
Workers and customers learned about the store closures on the same day Walmart drew praise from the White House for raising pay and giving out worker bonuses because of the new lower corporate tax rate.
Customers took to social media with questions about why their local Sam’s Club stores were shuttered. Some demanded refunds for their Sam’s Club memberships, which cost between $45 and $100. The official Sam’s Club Twitter account replied to some questions with a brief statement.
“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,” Sam’s Club wrote in one reply. “Closing clubs is never easy and we’re committed to working with impacted members and associates through this transition.”
Employers must give workers 60 days notice before closing a plant or issuing mass layoffs, according to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Sam’s Club posted one such alert, referred to as a WARN notice, to the Indiana state government’s website. That notice says three locations in the state were slated to be closed on January 26. The move will impact 419 employees.
Several other states where CNNMoney has confirmed stores will be closing did not have such notices posted as of Thursday afternoon.
It’s not clear how many stores have closed. Local news outlets across the country — including from Houston, Syracuse, Baton Rouge and Dallas — reported the closures happened without notice. Some reported that bewildered employees showed up to work to find out they no longer had a job.
Thirty-nine stores called by CNNMoney had recorded messages saying the store was closed Thursday but would reopen Friday. It’s unclear whether or not these stores will remain open.
Nine stores said they were closed effective Thursday, and two more said they would close January 26.
According to Business Insider, Sam’s Club closures are taking place nationwide, with Business Insider reporting “in some cases, employees were not informed of the closures prior to showing up to work on Thursday.”
Below is a running list of stores Business Insider has confirmed to be closing:
-
8801 Old Seward Hwy, Anchorage, AK 99515
- 3900 Grants Mill Rd, Irondale, AL 35210
- 2425 E Florence Blvd, Casa Grande, AZ 85194
- 5757 E State Route 69, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314
- 1375 S Arizona Ave, Chandler, AZ 85286
- 17835 Gale Ave, City of Industry, CA 91748
- 12540 Beach Blvd, Stanton, CA 90680
- 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
- 501 N Randall Rd, Batavia, IL 60510
- 21430 S Cicero Ave, Matteson, IL 60443
- 900 S Barrington Rd, Streamwood, IL 60107
- 1055 McHenry Rd, Wheeling, IL 60090
- 808 S Illinois Rte 59, Naperville, IL 60540
- 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
- 3745 Louisiana Ave S, St Louis Park, MN 55426
- 2800 27th Ave S, Moorhead, MN 56560
- 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
-
22296 Market Place Dr, New Caney, TX 77357
- 741 E Little Creek Rd, Norfolk, VA 23518
- 901 S Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057
- 1101 Outlet Collection Way, Auburn, WA 98001
- 7050 Watts Rd, Madison, WI 53719
- 1540 S 108th St, West Allis, WI 53214
- 13550 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133
