"Healthcare is expensive to run. We were finding that the increased labor and operating costs environment, like with reimbursement, both public and private, made it difficult (to run the business) and obvious we had to close," Walmart spokeswoman Marilee McInnis told Reuters.

The company said in a statement those challenges created an environment where it saw a "lack of profitability" that made the care business "unsustainable for us at this time."

The world’s largest retailer expects to close the 51 health centers, which are typically located next to a Walmart Supercenter and house doctors and dentists, within 30 to 90 days, McInnis said. The clinics were spread across five states including Texas and Florida.

The Bentonville-based company launched the health center business in Georgia in 2019, offering primary care, dental care, behavioral health, labs and X-ray, audiology and telehealth services.

Walmart declined to disclose the sales it made from each health center or the losses Walmart might incur from closing the business.