Walmart announced its plan to close its final two locations in Portland, Ore., at the end of March following underwhelming financial results.
“We have nearly 5,000 stores across the U.S. and unfortunately some do not meet our financial expectations,” the corporation said in a statement according to KPTV. “While our underlying business is strong, these specific stores haven’t performed as well as we hoped.”
The closures, which will result in nearly 600 employees being laid off, come after a statement by Walmart CEO Doug McMillion in December 2022 noting that record-breaking retail theft had undercut the company’s economic performance of late.
“Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” McMillon told CNBC. Prices “will be higher and/or stores will close,” the executive added if Oregon authorities failed to address rampant shoplifting.
Companies shuttering stores in Portland has become increasingly common. Last year a clothing store, Raind PDX, shut down operations with the company specifically citing the cost of doing business in the wake of historic retail theft.
“Small businesses (and large) cannot sustain doing business, in our city’s current state. We have no protection, or recourse, against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished,” a letter posted on the company’s store read. “Our city is in peril.”
In a similar vein, Nike and Cracker Barrel locations closed in 2022 with companies citing similar reasons.
“We consider many factors, including current and projected financial performance, location, population, customer needs, and the proximity of other nearby stores when making these difficult decisions. Our focus right now is taking care of our associates during this transition and working with our customers to transition their pharmacy, and other, shopping needs to nearby stores,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
In late February, Walmart announced a series of other closures across the United States including in Florida, Illinois, Arkansas, and Wisconsin.