Juneau\u2019s Walmart has been packed since it announced it was closing up shop on Feb. 4.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the first day of a 50-percent-off sale on all merchandise, a perpetual stream of shoppers practically formed two single file lines, one entering and one exiting the building.<\/p>\n
It was so busy shopping carts weren\u2019t even available.<\/p>\n
\u201cExcuse, miss,\u201d one woman said to another pushing a full shopping cart toward her car in the parking lot. \u201cCan I use your cart when you\u2019re done?\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman in need of a cart then followed the other woman back to her car and waited as she unloaded her bags before taking the cart and heading into the busy store.<\/p>\n
Every checkout lane was open, and the lines meandered toward the back of the building.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to believe that in less than two weeks, the store will be almost empty, and all 168 of the store\u2019s employees will be without jobs. Only a small team of employees will remain in the building after the store closes to the public, working to remove whatever merchandise still remains.<\/p>\n
The economic impact of the closure is still unknown. It\u2019s also uncertain how the change will affect the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the largest layoff in Juneau in recent history,\u201d Department of Labor spokesperson Heather Beaty said. \u201cI think it\u2019s safe to say this is an unusual instance that doesn\u2019t happen often.\u201d<\/p>\n
City employees are just beginning to work on figuring out how the sudden closure will affect the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, I\u2019m listing all of the questions that need to be answered,\u201d City Finance Director Bob Bartholomew said. \u201cTo answer them is going to take some analysis, and it\u2019s going to take time.\u201d<\/p>\n
So far, three big questions are on his list: How will the closure impact Walmart employees? How will it impact city tax revenue? And how, if at all, will it impact the overall economy of Juneau?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Economic impact<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2014, the third largest employment sector in Juneau was retail trade, which accounted for 11 percent of all jobs, according to DOL and Juneau Economic Development Council data. About 1,900 people worked retail jobs, earning an average monthly salary of about $2,400. Walmart employees make up about 9 percent of the city\u2019s entire retail sector.<\/p>\n Bartholomew said that the only way to determine whether the closure will impact the city\u2019s sales tax revenue is to first determine what percentage of Walmart\u2019s sales will transfer to other stores in the area and what percentage will dry up completely.<\/p>\n Only time will tell how this will unfold, but JEDC Director Brian Holst thinks that most sales will transfer.<\/p>\n He told the Chamber of Commerce recently that it\u2019s safe to assume that all of Walmart\u2019s grocery sales will transfer to other nearby stores. It\u2019s clothing and other such merchandise that people may turn to online retailers for.<\/p>\n \u201cThere could be an impact on our sales tax, but we don\u2019t anticipate it to be a large one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n As far as property tax revenue for the city is concerned, the city is in the clear for at least another year, Bartholomew said. Although Walmart is the city\u2019s ninth largest single source of property tax revenue, property tax assessments are set on Jan. 1, which means Walmart will have to pay the $163,000 in property taxes that it owes in the next fiscal year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Employee impact<\/strong><\/p>\n Effective April 15, 168 Walmart employees will be without jobs if they don\u2019t transfer to another Walmart location. The nearest Walmart is about 300 miles away in Ketchikan. At that point, eligible employees (both part-time and full-time) will receive severance pay to the tune of one week per year served.<\/p>\n According to Holst, no one single company in Juneau has enough openings to take in all of the Walmart employees who will be without jobs. The DOL is working to help Walmart employees find new positions.<\/p>\n It will be holding a \u201cMini Job Fair\u201d on Friday at the Gruening Park Recreation Room. Fred Meyer, Safeway, IGA and Home Depot will all be there. The department will also be hosting Walmart Worker Meetings daily at the Juneau Job Center, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., to help employees build r\u00e9sum\u00e9s, train for interviews and file for unemployment benefits. These meeting will run from Feb. 1 through Feb. 12 excluding the weekend.<\/p>\n In the meantime, Holst said that is important that no Walmart employee quits his or her job, for risk of losing their unemployment benefits.<\/p>\n There is at least one silver lining for Walmart employees, according to Holst.<\/p>\n \u201cThe timing of the April 15 date is fortunate because that\u2019s when our retail sector really ramps up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u2022 Contact reporter Sam DeGrave at 523-2279 or at sam.degrave@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"