71 employees to lose their job as Walmart closes Pinellas County store

Walmart will lay off 71 employees in Pinellas County next month as it closes one of its neighborhood market branded stores.

In a letter to the state, a market manager writes that the store, at 6900 U.S. Hwy 19 N. in Pinellas Park, is set to close March 10 and employees will keep their jobs until March 19. The job cuts, writes the manager, are permanent.

The letter was sent to meet WARN Notice requirements. Federal law requires companies to provide states with Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification notices when making job cuts.

As of Thursday, Feb. 9, there are no other postings for Walmart on Florida’s WARN database.

Walmart did not respond to a request for comment on why the store was closing or if there were any other closures expected in Florida or elsewhere.

According to the letter, employees will be eligible to apply for work at other Walmart and Sam’s Club stores during a paid “job search period.” The company says it will also offer severance pay “subject to eligibility requirements,” support services and access to its career portal.

Walmart is one of the largest retailers in the world. It operates about 10,500 stores and clubs under 46 banners in 24 countries and employs 2.3 million people worldwide, about 1.6 million of them in the U.S.

According to the job search website Indeed, the average hourly pay for Walmart employees ranges from about $11.84 to $50 for a senior quality engineer.