Retail giant Walmart has slashed its number of stores in Chicago, Illinois, in half. The company announced earlier this week that it will close four out of its eight locations in the “Windy City.”
Walmart explained its decision in a blog post, saying that the stores have been causing huge losses for the company on an annual basis. According to the company, Chicago stores have failed to become collectively profitable since the first one opened 17 years ago and “lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years.”
The remaining Walmart stores will continue business as usual. The company also added that all the workers from closed stores would have a chance to be relocated to another location.
“We are grateful to our associates for their contributions to their communities and for the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them at these Chicago locations,” Walmart concluded in the blog post.
In its earnings report in February, Walmart reported $164 billion in revenue, posting a 7.3% year-over-year gain and beating the analysts’ estimation of $160 billion. The company’s stock has jumped more than 8% in the past month and is currently 3.91 percent up year to date at the price of $149.22 per share.