Kroger will shutter about five percent of its grocery stores — or approximately 60 store locations across the country — over the next 18 months, the company announced in its first quarter earnings report.
“In the first quarter, Kroger recognized an impairment charge of $100 million related to the planned closing of approximately 60 stores over the next 18 months,” per the report. “As a result of these store closures, Kroger expects a modest financial benefit. Kroger is committed to reinvesting these savings back into the customer experience, and as a result, this will not impact full-year guidance. Kroger will offer roles in other stores to all associates currently employed at affected stores.”
Kroger hasn’t specified which locations will be axed at this time, but various local media outlets have identified several closing locations, including in the states of Illinois, Kentucky, Texas, West Virginia and more. United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 — a chapter of a labor union representing 35,000 retail, grocery and food processing industry workers in the Mid-Atlantic area — said in a June 20 statement that Kroger will be closing four stores represented by the union. Kroger #739 in Gassaway, WV, and Kroger #239 in Charlottesville, VA, are slated to close on Aug. 22. Kroger #255 in Abingdon, VA, and Kroger #328 in Kingsport, TN, are slated to close on Sept. 19.
“The communities served by our members at these stores will suffer as a direct result of Kroger prioritizing Wall Street investors over their customers and hard-working employees,” Union President Mark Federici said in a statement. “Closing these stores will not only result in fewer good, union job opportunities, it will further limit food access in rural areas where there are few if any alternatives to buy groceries — all for a purported ‘modest financial benefit’ to the company.”
“While the company has agreed to place impacted associates at other locations, for many workers, the reality is these stores are too far from one another for a transfer to be practicable,” he added. “Our union will do everything in our power to support our members through this difficult time and ensure they land on their feet.”
News of Kroger’s forthcoming closures come a few months after a proposed $25 billion merger with Albertsons was blocked by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys.
