Wal-Mart announced on Tuesday it would close all of the more than 1,100 U.N. and U.K.-owned stores, a decision that would also force hundreds of thousands of employees out of the U.A.E. and many other countries around the world.
The move comes amid a national outcry over what the U’s food and retail industries say is rampant corruption at the world’s largest retailer, which has been under pressure to do more to curb the scourge of food fraud and to make its suppliers’ safety records public.
Walmart said it was closing its stores in a series of phases.
It would close about 400 stores in the U, where it operates about 10,000 stores, and about 50 in the rest of the world, the company said.
Walmart has already closed about 3,000 U.O. stores and plans to close about 8,000 in the next few weeks, it said.
The stores would reopen in stages as they are redeveloped.
Wal-Mart, which is the biggest U.R. store chain in the world by revenue, has faced criticism in the United States for its handling of food safety and the impact on customers, who have long complained about poor food quality and lack of freshness.
The company, which said last month it would sell its U-Haul trucking business, said the closures would reduce its global food supply chain by about 15 percent and cut its annual food and beverage sales by about $3.5 billion.
The company said it would offer a $10,000 reward to anyone who can provide information about the retailer’s food safety procedures and its suppliers, and it would set up a hotline for shoppers to report suspected food safety violations.
Walter Robb, chief executive of Walmart U.L., said in a statement that the company would work with suppliers to improve food safety in its stores and that Walmart is committed to working closely with governments and regulators to improve the way food is delivered and served.
WalMart is also moving to shutter its U.-hauling business.
The company is working with suppliers on a new U.B.C.O., which will combine its existing U.U.
Haul and U-B.
B cargo trucking businesses, it announced.
On Monday, the retailer said it is going to sell its trucking operation, but it did not say when.
The retailer has been grappling with its reputation as a global retailer and with a series on food safety at its U.’s.
stores that began last year and has prompted the U.’
S.
Justice Department to investigate the retailer.
Walmarts problems with food safety have been chronicled in several major investigations by the U., including one conducted by the Justice Department and the U’s Food and Drug Administration.
Wal marts latest troubles started in the late 1990s, when it was accused of manipulating U.H.aul shipments, as well as the company’s failure to meet federal food safety standards.
A year after that, Walmart’s own internal audits showed that the retailer had failed to protect food and packaging materials in its U’ trucks.
Walmart has denied wrongdoing.
The Justice Department’s investigation found that Walmart had failed its U trucks to meet food safety guidelines for months and that a company that was responsible for ensuring the safety of the products on the trucks had “substantially less knowledge about the food and other hazardous materials” that were shipped to stores.
