PORTLAND, Ore. – Walmart is pulling up stakes and fleeing Portland as retail crime spikes in the Pacific Northwest city. There are two of the chain’s stores remaining in the troubled area. Each will close later this month, according to The Oregonian.
“There is no single cause for why a store closes – we do a thorough review of how a store performs and weigh many factors before making the difficult decision to close a facility,” Lauren Willis, a Walmart representative, said.
However, none of Walmart’s other 45 stores in Oregon will be shuttering, Willis confirmed. Consequently, this means 580 workers will find themselves unemployed if they do not obtain positions at other Walmart locations, The Oregonian reported.
Walmart has announced it will permanently close all its locations in Portland, Ore. Nearly 600 will lose their jobs. The closures follow the consequences of the 2020 BLM-Antifa riots that helped justify & normalize urban criminality & retail theft. https://t.co/LKx5FP1p1q
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) March 3, 2023
The retail giant said it plans to close the stores at the Delta Park and Eastport Plaza shopping centers, including their pharmacies, on March 24.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said retail theft plays a factor in decisions of this nature, Fox Business reported.
“Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” McMillon told CNBC in a December interview, adding that “prices will be higher and/or stores will close” if theft is not curbed.
Last month, Walmart also announced closing its technology hub in Portland, making it one of three hubs in the nation being shuttered. The company also closed its technology offices and relocated staff from Austin, Texas, and Carlsbad, California, to the company’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, Reuters reported.
https://twitter.com/HromanikLaura/status/1632058156187811842?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1632058156187811842%7Ctwgr%5Ecb5002106480de76d8a814a3e70cbd0af4a52505%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.westernjournal.com%2Fliberal-city-loses-major-retailer-company-pulls-stores-area%2F
Although Walmart did not specifically cite crime when closing the technology hub, there is no doubt crime is hurting the city’s business environment, according to The Western Journal.
All Portland Walmart stores to permanently close in late March
Story: https://t.co/eeYnnS751h pic.twitter.com/dTS1Y0pcfl
— FOX 12 Oregon (@fox12oregon) March 2, 2023
In a related piece last year by Fox News, a Portland clothing store called Rains PDX left a note on the shop door after it closed, which clearly outlined the reason for its demise.
“Our city is in peril. Small businesses (and large) cannot sustain doing business, in our city’s current state. We have no protection, or recourse, against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished,” the note declared.
“Do not be fooled into thinking that insurance companies cover losses. We have sustained 15 break-ins … we have not received any financial reimbursement since the 3rd,” the message emphasized.
