Some Sam's Club Stores Are Shutting Their Doors
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/CNN Money) -- Sam's Club is closing down some of its locations and some employees say it was done without even a warning.
That includes some Florida locations listed below:
- 355 FL-436, Fern Park, FL 32730
- 7233 N Seacrest Blvd, Lantana, FL 33462
- 5135 S Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33611
Walmart, which owns Sam's Club, did not respond to numerous requests for comment.
Workers and customers learned about the store closures on the same day Walmart drew praise from the White House for raising pay and giving out worker bonuses because of the new lower corporate tax rate.
Customers took to social media with questions about why their local Sam's Club stores were shuttered. Some demanded refunds for their Sam's Club memberships, which cost between $45 and $100. The official Sam's Club Twitter account replied to some questions with a brief statement.
"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," Sam's Club wrote in one reply. "Closing clubs is never easy and we're committed to working with impacted members and associates through this transition."
Employers must give workers 60 days notice before closing a plant or issuing mass layoffs, according to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Sam's Club posted one such alert, referred to as a WARN notice, to the Indiana state government's website. That notice says three locations in the state were slated to be closed on January 26. The move will impact 419 employees.
Several other states where CNNMoney has confirmed stores will be closing did not have such notices posted as of Thursday afternoon.
It's not clear how many stores have closed. Local news outlets across the country -- including from Houston, Syracuse, Baton Rouge and Dallas -- reported the closures happened without notice. Some reported that bewildered employees showed up to work to find out they no longer had a job.
Thirty-nine stores called by CNNMoney had recorded messages saying the store was closed Thursday but would reopen Friday. It's unclear whether or not these stores will remain open.
Nine stores said they were closed effective Thursday, and two more said they would close January 26.
Later, the Trump administration praised Walmart.
"They raised minimum wage," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at a press briefing. "They are increasing salaries to over a million American workers. We think that's a positive."
--CNNMoney's Chris Isidore, Kathryn Vasel and David Goldman contributed to this report.
(©2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN contributed to this report.)
