Coon Rapids Walmart permanently closing at the end of August; 170+ to be laid off

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The Walmart in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, is closing for good on Aug. 29, the store said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

Around 176 people will be permanently laid off as a result of the closure, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. The layoff will take effect on Oct. 31, and those impacted will be paid for 90 days after the store shuts down.

During those 90 days, employees at the store on Riverdale Drive Northwest will be able to apply for open positions at other Walmart, Sam’s Club or other company facilities.

Employees being laid off are not represented by a union, the state says. 

Coon Rapids City Councilmember Pat Carlson said this was “a corporate decision,” and that the city can’t do much about the closure.

“I remember when the store was built as an anchor for the Riverdale Crossing Shopping Center in 1990,” Carlson said about the store. “There was a lot of buzz at the time.”

Fellow Councilmember Pat Butler said he will be “monitoring Walmart’s progress” to help impacted employees.

The Walmart in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, closed down in April 2023. The company said at that time that the shutdown was tied to poor performance. A Sun Foods Supermarket has since opened in that building.

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