I hate to be an alarmist, but these 63 stores are just a start. Retail has never been in a worse position (just look at seasonal hiring, it was lower then during recession!) and automation is taking over thousands of jobs. I can guarantee you that a lion's share of tax cuts will go towards elimination of more jobs that can be automated.
If ever there was a time to find a new job in a new industry, this is it.
I heard Wal-Mart may be trying to sale off Sam's and concentrate solely on Wal-Mart and online sales to compete with Amazon. Turning alot of Sams into fulfillment centers to be able to offer faster shipping than Amazon. To catch Amazon some major changes are going to have to happen. Neighborhood Markets were the first to go. The future is approaching fast and Wal-Mart became number one in retail and is not going to stand by and not become number one in online as well. Amazon put Ebay away and Wal-mart will eventually surpass Amazon just like it did everyone else. Costco is winning the wholesale battle just look at the difference is stock prices. Last check Costco was around $194.00 a share and Wal-mart half of that and Amazon was around $1100.00 a share kicking all there a***s.
youre absolutely correct, they do everything to please their shareholders and protect their profits. Walmarts so called announcement for the $11/ HR minimum was just a distraction while Sams Club did these closings, this is definitely just the first phase. these warehouse buildings are a waste for shoppers, Walmart will probably change them to distribution centers of some sort, they have to compete with Amazon, so i think this is their first move. Just think, rumors are Walmart may go after Humana, and rumors are Amazon may go after Target. Kohls is already looking to vacate alot of their real estate, THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING FOLKS.