PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The last two Walmart locations in Portland are permanently shutting their doors on Friday.
The closures, which were announced in late February, mean nearly 600 employees are being laid off. The locations shutting down are at Hayden Meadows and East Portland Plaza on 82nd Avenue.
The company said it was shuttering those stores for financial reasons as Walmart’s CEO announced record-breaking retail theft nationwide has been impacting the company’s bottom line.
The closing Walmarts also resulted in a Twitter spat between Portland’s mayor and Texas’s governor about apparent crime in the region.
Meanwhile, later this spring, the remaining Walmart stores across Oregon and Washington will go bagless — for paper and plastic — as the company moves forward with an environmental initiative.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.