Kroger, the American retail company that operates supermarkes and multi-department stores throughout the US, is all set to trim its corporate workforce by almost a 1,000 as part of a restructuring exercise.
Media reports say that employees have received a memo conveying that the job cuts are necessary to ensure long-term success.
It is pertinent to mention here that the grocery giant has at least 4,00,000 employees, of which the maximum are employed at the stores. The costs saved by these job cuts will be invested back into other areas, including new locations and jobs at the store level.
About three months ago, Kroger, which runs at least 300 stores in California, had announced intentions to close about 60 underperforming stores over a period of a year and a half. Earlier, in February, it had already reportedly cut jobs at three sites in Cincinnati.
Cincinnati-based Kroger runs over 2,700 stores under various brands across the US, with a wide variety of household and fresh goods, as well as pharmacy services on offer. Its e-commerce services are yet to become profitable though.
Unfortunately, the much publicised merger of Kroger and Albertsons was not allowed to materialise. Had the deal been finalised the two entities together would have formed the largest supermarket merger in American history, as the two brands operate about 5,000 stores. It was feared that Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons would have led to higher prices leading to financial strain on consumers already fighting the rising price of food.
