Walmart ditches Express and lagging stores

There’s a big bag of woe in retail as the third major merchant in little more than a week announces store closings.

Walmart says it will close 269 stores in 2016, as the world’s largest tries to improve its finances.

imagesMost of the underperformers are sited within 10 miles of another Walmart. Of the stores on the chopping block, 154 locations are in the United States; two-thirds of those are the smaller “Walmart Express” stores, a pilot program that failed to get off the ground.

Only 12 U.S. Walmart Supercenters will close, along with four Sam’s Club stores. Most of the foreign closings will be in Brazil.

Of the 16,000 employees impacted, 10,000 work in U.S. stores. The company plans to place those workers in nearby Walmarts. Employees who don’t find a place will get 60 days’ severance and training in job hunting.

Walmart stock swooned 30 percent last year in tough times for retailers. Macy’s and Kmart also recently announced significant store closings.

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