Walmart plans to shutter another two locations in the Denver metro area, according to notices the national grocer filed with the state Monday.
The Walmart Neighborhood Market in Arvada and Walmart store in Wheat Ridge are set to close July 7, according to the notices. Two-hundred-eighteen workers will have to decide to commute farther to stay with Walmart or find another job.
The stores expected to close in July are located at 3600 Youngfield St. in
Wheat Ridge and 14605 W. 64th Ave. in Arvada. The store in Wheat Ridge employs 153 workers. Another 65 work at the one in Arvada, according to the notices.
Wheat Ridge losing its only Walmart will create a "significant" loss in sales tax revenue for the municipality, a city spokeswoman said Friday though she declined to share a dollar figure. Arvada will likely not take the same hit since Walmart is planning to open a new store this summer within its boundaries.
Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield said Friday that the company hopes to transition the workers at the closing stores to its new location at West 58th Avenue and Independence Street that's expected to open in August. The new store would be about three miles from the closing stores in Wheat Ridge and Arvada.
The stores shutting down in Jefferson County bring the number of Walmart stores expected to close in Colorado this year to four. Earlier this year, Walmart announced it was closing Neighborhood Markets in Boulder and Denver. One-hundred-forty-two workers were estimated to be impacted by those closures, according to notices filed with the state.
Hatfield said the closures are part of a standard portfolio review by the company and in most cases, another Walmart store is located 5 to 10 miles away. The company generally has a high rate of employees transfer from closing stores to other locations in the company, she said.
"We are sitting with every single associate to see what they want to do and share with them other opportunities," Hatfield said.
This article was updated to include comments from Walmart and the town of Wheat Ridge.
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Business & data reporter Adrian D. Garcia can be reached via email at [email protected] or @adriandgarcia on Twitter.
