Whole Foods cutting hundreds of roles to simplify operations
The layoffs will not impact any store or distribution center roles
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Amazon-owned Whole Foods is laying off hundreds of corporate workers over the coming months as part of a reorganization effort.
The high-end grocer, which has over 500 stores across North America and the U.K., told staff in a memo Thursday that it is seeking to "further simplify" its operations and as a result, will "make a few changes" to certain global and regional support teams over the next two months.
The layoffs will impact less than 0.5% of the company's total workforce. There are over 100,000 roles across the company, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The cuts will not impact any store or distribution roles, according to Whole Foods. The company is not planning to close any stores or facilities as a result of the layoffs, either.
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"We are evolving our operating structure and making adjustments to some corporate teams, so we can better support our stores as Whole Foods Market continues to grow and expand its reach to serve more customers," a Whole Foods Market Spokesperson told FOX Business in a statement.
A pedestrian walks by a closed Whole Foods store on April 12, 2023 in San Francisco. ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Among the changes, the company told employees that it will adjust the structure and improving processes of several other global support teams, create a company-wide operations team and enhance its Team Members Support.
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It will also be shifting from nine to six regions in order to allow the company "to quickly make decisions, implement sustainable processes, and scale innovations."
A shopper waits for a taxi outside a Whole Foods grocery store near Avenue Road and Bloor Street West in Toronto. (Lance McMillan/Toronto Star via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The company still plans to open 50 new stores. Additionally, in the next few years, it is planning on having a pipeline of closer to 100 stores in development, which would allow Whole Foods to open 30 or more stores each year.
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The news comes amid a time when its parent company, Amazon, has been cutting costs, including cutting 27,000 jobs across its own organization.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 180.96 | +1.34 | +0.75% |
CEO Andy Jassy previously said that the company's cost-cutting measures are part of this year's planning cycle, which will enable the company "to still invest robustly in the key long-term customer experiences that we believe can meaningfully improve customers’ lives and Amazon as a whole."