Sam’s Club closes 63 locations nationwide

Walmart is closing dozens of Sam’s Club stores, but none are in the metro-east or St. Louis.

Sam’s Club abruptly closed 63 locations across the United States, with some shuttered Thursday without notice to employees, according to Business Insider.

Sam’s Club posted on Twitter that the locations were closed to “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 company posted.

None of the closed Sam’s Club locations are in the metro-east, including O’Fallon and Glen Carbon. The Illinois stores that are affected include Batavia, Matteson, Moline, Naperville, Streamwood, Wheeling and Romeoville.

KHOU Houston reported that employees showed up to work Thursday morning and only learned their location was closed from the note on the front door.

The move came on the same day that parent company Walmart announced it was raising wages to $11, expanding employee benefits and offering workers bonuses up to $1,000.

Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement that the recent tax reform was the impetus to boost wages. The bonuses are based on length of service, according to CNN Money; the workers who get the $1,000 will have been employed for at least 20 years.

Walmart is currently the world’s largest company by revenue and the largest private employer in the world, with 2.3 million employees. Also included in the benefit expansion: a parental leave policy adding 10 weeks of paid maternity leave and six weeks paid parental leave, as well as financial assistance for adoption.

This story was originally published January 11, 2018 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Sam’s Club closes 63 locations nationwide."