Walmart is closing four urban stores in Chicago that have never turned a profit

Businesses react economically first, and socially second.
Walmart is closing four stores in Chicago. The Chicago stores have not been profitable since the first one opened 17 years ago. This follows the closing of a DC store and two downtown Portland stores. This is a general pattern of retreat from the urban market by Walmart. The company will not attribute one factor, and I will argue that it’s the confluence of several factors. Walmart said theft was not a driving factor, but grocery and general retail operates on razor thin margins, so even moderate theft can result in an underperforming store.
Broadly speaking, Walmart has been doing layoffs. Walmart has been laying off corporate staff and closed three technology hubs. Thousands of e-commerce fulfillment center jobs have been cut because Walmart is filling more e-commerce orders from store inventory. When I place home delivery orders from Walmart, there always a few items that are out of stock at the store, and therefore I end up not getting them delivered.
The Chicago Mayor, Lori Lightfoot, said she is incredibly disappointed. Well, these stores have not turned a profit in over a decade, the oldest one hasn’t been profitable in 17 years. I do not understand why people in Chicago believe that a public corporation needs to be subsidizing Chicago via unprofitable store operations. I believe there is a general distain and misunderstanding of finance and capitalism in the city of Chicago that leads to misinformed decisions that come from an emotional rather than rational frame of mind.
Works Cited:
https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2023/04/11/walmart-announces-closure-of-four-chicago-stores