Walmart said Thursday it is closing more than 60 Sam’s Club stores nationwide and laying off thousands of workers. Many of the stores closed abruptly on Thursday without any warning to employees. The layoffs came as Walmart said it would increase its company-wide minimum wage from $9 to $11 per hour. The retailer lauded the massive tax bill recently passed by Republicans and signed by President Trump, saying its tax savings would allow it to pass along about $300 million to pay for higher wages. That’s a small fraction of the estimated $2 billion a year the company will save from the tax cuts, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers union. At the White House, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin both dodged questions about Walmart’s layoffs while taking credit for the company’s wage increases.