1,200 jobs will be lost when Wal-Mart finalizes its move next month to close all Sam’s Club outlets across southern Ontario.

Sam’s Club, the Costco-style members-only retail outlet popular across the United States simply has not received the same response in Canada, officials from the company say.

“Despite our best efforts and the commendable work of our Sam’s Club associates, our six clubs have not met our expectations,” said CEO and President of Wal-Mart Canada, David Cheesewright.

The company’s press release detailed the locations of the company’s six locations which will be discontinued as being located in Pickering, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, London, Cambridge and Etobicoke.

Wal-Mart Canada currently employs about 80,000 people nationwide. The Sam’s Club outlets were started in Canada five years ago, as what the company has treated as a market experiment.

The 1,200 jobs lost from this announcement, the company said, will be repositioned within Wal-Mart stores and corporate levels to the greatest extent possible. Additionally, 2009 will bring the opening of 26 new Wal-Mart supercentres, bringing the number of Canadian supercentres to 82.

Wal-Mart Canada’s overall store count, as of the end of 2009 is slated to hit 316.

“Customer response to our supercentres has been very strong,” said David Cheesewright, President and CEO of Wal-Mart Canada. “Today’s announcement will allow us to focus our resources on growing this popular one-stop format at a time when Canadians are relying on Wal-Mart more than ever to help them save money during challenging economic times.”

The American parent company of Wal-Mart Canada recently shed a collection of jobs at a number of locations.

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