Walmart Set to Close All Stores in Portland amid Record-Breaking Retail Theft
6th March 2023
The closures, which will result in nearly 600 employees being laid off, come after a statement by Walmart CEO Doug McMillion in December 2022 noting that record-breaking retail theft had undercut the company’s economic performance of late.
“Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” McMillon told CNBC. Prices “will be higher and/or stores will close,” the executive added if Oregon authorities failed to address rampant shoplifting.
Companies shuttering stores in Portland has become increasingly common. Last year a clothing store, Raind PDX, shut down operations with the company specifically citing the cost of doing business in the wake of historic retail theft.
One of the basic functions of a government is the protection of people and their property. If a government can’t–or won’t–do that, then you don’t have a government, you just have a dysfunctional protection racket.