At least 2 Sam's Club stores closed in NC

• 5085 Dawn Dr, Lumberton, NC 28360
• 1101 Shiloh Glenn Dr, Morrisville, NC 27560

http://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-suddenly-closes-sams-club-stores-2018-1

• Walmart is abruptly closing 63 Sam's Club locations across the US, the company told Business Insider on Thursday. Some stores have already closed; others will close within weeks.
• Many employees were not informed of the closings ahead of time.
• Ten of the closed stores will be turned into e-commerce distribution centers.

Walmart is closing 63 Sam's Club stores across the US, the company told Business Insider on Thursday afternoon, after reports of abrupt store closings began to emerge.

In some cases, employees were not told their store had closed before showing up to work on Thursday. Those employees learned their store would be closing when they found the store's doors locked and a notice announcing the closing, according to reports.

Ten of the affected stores will be turned into e-commerce distribution centers, and employees of those stores will have the opportunity to reapply for positions at those locations, a Walmart official said.

The remaining stores will stay open for several weeks before closing permanently. All of the affected stores were scrubbed from the Sam's Club website on Thursday morning.

 

Yeah those that lose their jobs will sure appreciate the $11 minimum wage and 1k bonus!

 

Those big stores are always so empty, I wonder how they stay in business. Whenever we go to BJs at White Oak, there's maybe 10-20 other people at most in the store besides the employees. And more people just buy a couple items nowadays then fill an entire cart. Our average checkout there is like 6-8 items.

 

Looks like Walmart is trying to stay competitive with Amazon by transforming their Sam's Club locations into distribution centers, similar to what Jeff Bezos is doing at Whole Foods. Walmart has also just announced that they will be installing new "Scan and Go" technology in 100 Walmart stores across the country by the end of January '18, with more to come, which will mean cashiers getting the pink slip, since they won't be needed anymore. Krogers and some 400 other stores will also be using the same, or similar technology, this year as well. Seems like a lot of businesses are using their new tax savings towards "improved" mechanization, rather than the celebrated employee "bonuses" that were hilariously showcased in the news lately. I haven't shopped at Walmart in a while - I go to Lidl's now - where the produce is better and cheaper - and frankly, the employees are much nicer.

 

I have shopped at the Morrisville location in the past. During the day it was very busy when I was there. I don't think I have ever gotten out without a very full buggy or under $150 -$200. I have seen the self check out added to some of the other stores, which really seems to speed up the check out for me because very few seem to use it.

 

"Scan and Go" technology is very different from the typical "self check-out" system that most of us recognize at places like Walmart. It's not a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) situation yet, which is really just around the corner, but pretty close. For now, a "Scan and Go" system will allow the customer to use an app on their smartphone to scan merchandise themselves, which will be totaled, with the amount debited from their bank account through the app. Later, as RFID becomes more commonplace, as soon as you enter a store, with your smartphone, you will be "recognized" or more accurately, "tracked". Rather than bar codes, merchandise will have embedded RFID chips, thus allowing the merchandise to be "tracked" with you throughout the store. Like "Scan and Go", merchandise will be totaled, then automatically deducted from your bank account, but all done without the customer scanning anything. That's the short version, but either way, you slice it, whether it's Scan and Go, or the more advanced RFID, cashier jobs will be disappearing in the near future, at least at large companies like Walmart, who can afford this kind of advanced technology.

 

Do you really believe this is related to the new tax law? How so? Thanks

 

Probably not, but it is announced on the same day, and if you were about to lose your job there what would you think?

 

Gotta love Walmart's slick PR and social media engine. On the VERY SAME DAY that they announce that they're closing their stores, and laying off thousands of employees, they get the word out that they are "increasing the starting salary of cashiers to $11 per hour", and employees "who have worked 20 years or more will get $1,000 bonuses", while the average "bonus" is actually closer to $200 for certain selected employees. Brilliant PR strategy, Walmart, and one that is being used more and more online.

 

The financial windfall created by the new tax laws for businesses will most likely be used for mechanization improvements that cost billions of dollars. (Coming soon to a store near you!) Meanwhile, closing stores and laying off thousands of cashiers and lower level employees, reduces payroll expenses so that these savings can then be used to "raise" minuscule wages, and maybe give a few selected employees a "bonus". Crumbs. Just like the (temporary) tax "relief" the middle class got!

 

It's funny that you feel compassion for the Wal-Mart employees who are being replaced with mechanization and then choose to leave them because they aren't as nice. Maybe the largest employer in the US actually knows what they are doing.

 

Happier employees are more likely to be better and more friendly employees.

 

Stay happy....stay employed.

 

Hard to stay happy when you are overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated by the people for which you work.

 

Walmart's employees are overworked, underpaid, undervalued, and sadly, it shows. I figure that it's my right as a consumer to support the business model of my choice.

 

It certainly is your right...that's the beauty of the free market. My point is unrelated to that though. If Wal-Mart employees feel they are worth more than they are paid, then they should seek the job they feel pays their worth. If that job doesn't exist then they should be glad they have a job at Wal-Mart.

In short, I don't subscribe to this narrative that "people are underpaid".....you are paid what you feel you are worth....or what you are willing to accept. Just as you are free to shop wherever you like, employers are free to pay whatever they feel a skill is worth. If they underpay, they risk losing said skill the same way overcharging/underperforming a service risks losing customers (to your point). The market will decide outcomes on both ends....and that is a BEAUTIFUL thing.

 

Moot point. Smiling or scowling employees has nothing to do with job security. You'll see fewer cashiers at Walmart, with more mechanization on the horizon.

 

But why do you care? You aren't going to shop there anyway?

 

Well said.

 

I don't want to turn this into a Pit thread, but I would like to know your answer to this question: if a person is ready, willing, and able to work, and no job openings exist, is he still a "lazy bum"?

...and if not, then how would you define him?