Two local Sam’s Club stores are closing. A spokesman for Walmart confirms for WXXI News that the Sam’s Club stores in Greece and Henrietta will close. They are just two of 63 Sam’s Club stores across the U.S. that are closing.
Stores in Syracuse and Jamestown reportedly are closing as well.
According to reports, in some cases, employees were not informed of the closures before showing up to work on Thursday.
Sam's Club’s statement on Twitter said that,"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."
A statement from the company says that it is transforming the business and will convert a dozen of the impacted clubs to e-commerce fulfillment centers, which will speed delivery of online orders.
A Walmart spokesman tells us that the two local stores will close on January 26th. They were closed Thursday but will reopen Friday.
Affected employees will be given opportunities at other Sam's Club or Walmart stores.
The closures come on the same day that Walmart (which owns Sam's Club) announced it was raising starting hourly wages to $11, expanding employee benefits, and offering workers bonuses of up to $1,000. A spokesman says the employees being laid off will receive that bonus.
After the local Sam's Club stores close the nearest Sam's Club would be in suburban Buffalo.
