Sam’s Club’s Morrisville closing to cost 187 people their jobs

Walmart said Thursday that it is closing more than 60 of its 650 Sam’s Club stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico – including its Morrisville location.

The company confirmed the closings in a statement on Twitter, and the Morrisville location was no longer listed on its website.

"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," the tweet read.

Around 10 of the Sam’s Club stores will only close temporarily as Walmart converts them into regional distributional centers to aid the company’s e-commerce operations, according to the Associated Press.

The Sam’s Club twitter account said that pharmacies at closing stores will be open for at least two more weeks.

The shuttering of the Morrisville location will lead to the elimination of 187 jobs, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining (WARN) Notification filed with the state of North Carolina on Friday. The layoffs are effective Jan. 26.

Under federal law, companies must file WARN notices when they make mass layoffs, close plants and change ownership.

Sam's Club membership fees will be refunded to customers affected by the closings, a Walmart official told Business Insider.

It was unclear how many employees were affected by the 63 store closings across the U.S., Sam’s Club said each store employs around 175 people. The company also said it is trying to find the displaced employees jobs at other Sam’s Club stores.

Four Sam’s Club locations in the Triangle – two in Raleigh, one in Durham and another in Wake Forest – were still listed as open on the company’s website. Only one other North Carolina location – the Sam’s Club in Lumberton – was part of the national closings, according to Business Insider. According to a seperate filing with the state, 149 people lost their jobs because of the Sam’s Club closing in Lumberton.

Earlier on Thursday, Walmart announced that it was boosting its starting hourly wage to $11 an hour and giving bonuses of up to $1,000 to employees based on seniority.

This story was originally published January 11, 2018 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Sam’s Club’s Morrisville closing to cost 187 people their jobs."