Sam's Club Will Close 2 Stores In Michigan

LANSING, MI – Sam's Club will close its stores in Farmington Hills and Lansing on Jan. 26. Between the two stores, there are 330 employees who will be cut, according to notices to the state of Michigan.

The company on Thursday notified the state, as required by federal law, that it will close the two stores to the public later this month, and that all hourly employees will be terminated on March 16 and management employees will be terminated on April 13.

Across the nation, 63 Sam's Clubs stores will close. The company will have 597 clubs nationwide after the closures. And, of the stores that close, 12 of them will be converted to eCommerce fulfillment centers, where online orders will be processed.

It appears that neither of the two Michigan clubs will be converted, however. In the letters to the state and local authorities, Sam's Club executives said the company expects these closures to be permanent.

The Farmington Hills stores, on Northwestern Highway, has 158 employees. The Lansing store, on East Edgewood Boulevard, has 172 employees. The employees, who are not unionized, can apply at other Sam's Club or Walmart stores, according to the letters.

Walmart will provide support and resources to those associates who are affected, including the bonus announced today and 60 days of pay, as well as severance to those eligible, the company said in statement issued Thursday.

The letters announcing the Michigan store closings were sent to Michigan Workforce Development Agency, Farmington Hills Mayor Kenneth Massey and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero.

Farmington Hills Assistant City Manager Gary Mekjian told Patch officials weren't surprised by the announcement.

"We had an understanding that their revenues were down at that particular store. There were plans they approached us with for a fueling station, but they pulled those plans in fall, which gave us pause," Mekjian said. While this is clearly a setback, Mekjian says it doesn't affect the way the city views further dealings with Walmart or Sam's Club.

"We're open for business. We have relationships or would like to have them with all kinds of national retailers, so we'd never close the door on anybody," Mekjian said.

Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

that requires yearly membership, is known for selling items in bulk, offering many items at discount, and operating discount gas stations at Club locations.

News media nationwide report that dozens of Sam's Club outlets closed today without notice. Areas affected include Farmington Hills, along with Indianapolis, Memphis, Louisiana, Atlanta, Houston and parts of New York.

Patch Editor Rebecca Golden contributed to this story.
File photo by Danny Johnston/Associated Press