More than 2,200 Walmart employees are now unemployed after the retail corporation announced it was temporarily closing five stores for 'extensive ' plumbing repairs . Workers at two Texas stores , as well as in California , Florida and Oklahoma , were notified only a couple of hours before they lost their jobs . Almost 550 people lost their job at the Pico Rivera store in California alone . Scroll down for video . More than 2,200 Walmart employees are now unemployed after the retail corporation announced it was temporarily closing five stores for 'extensive ' plumbing repairs . 'Everybody just panicked and started crying , ' deli department manager Venanzi Luna told CNN Money . Walmart will put both the full-time and part-time workers affected by the closures on paid leave for two months as they try to transfer to another Walmart location . Full-time workers who are n't able to secure another job at the corporation by June could be eligible for a severance package , but part-time workers will not be eligible . Pico Rivera City Manager Rene Bobadilla said this was the 'first time ' he was hearing of Walmart 's sewer problems and that store 's sudden closure was 'abnormal ' , he told Reuters . Walmart has not yet requested any building or city plumbing permits , according to employees and city officials . Some employees of the Pico Rivera location believe the store is being closed because it has recently become a center for protests by workers who are demanding better wages and benefits . The Pico Rivera location was one of the first to stage a Black Friday protest in 2012 . Some employees of the Pico Rivera location ( pictured during a 2013 protest ) believe the store is being closed because it has become a center for protests by workers demanding better wages and benefits . Walmart recently announced it will raise the store 's minimum hourly wage to $ 9 an hour . Store representatives have met with city officials in Livingston , Texas , where 422 employees lost their jobs . Livingston City Manager Marilyn Sutton said the corporation claimed the plumbing problems were 'ongoing and pervasive ' and that permits will not be requested until Walmart determines what specific repairs need to be made . In a statement , Walmart said it aims to 'reopen ' the stores 'as soon as these issues are resolved and improvements are made . ' A spokesman said the five affected stores have nothing else in common except that they have been plagued with plumbing problems for the past two years .
More than 2,200 stores in Texas , California , Florida and Oklahoma have been closed . Full-time and part-time employees will be put on paid leave for 2 months while they try to transfer to a different location . Walmart said the stores will reopen after 'extensive ' problems are fixed . Some employees in Pico Rivera , California believe their store was closed because it 's become a protest center for higher wages .