Reports: Whole Foods cutting hundreds of corporate jobs
The Austin-based grocery chain is planning corporate job cuts, which will result in savings of $800 million annually.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Whole Foods Market in Austin is planning layoffs.
WSJ reported on April 20 that a memo from the company indicated that several hundred jobs would be lost at Whole Foods.
Whole Food has announced layoffs, joining a list of local employers who have done so in the past few months. The Journal reported that the grocer was not expected to close any of its stores or facilities due to the reorganization. It was purchased by Amazon.com Inc. in 2017.
Amazon is reducing its workforce. In March, it announced a second round of planned 9,000 reductions.
CNBC reports that Whole Foods will instead divide its operations into six regions, rather than nine, and replace the existing division.
A spokesperson for Whole Foods told the Journal that the job cuts would affect less than half a percent of the total company workforce. Wall Street Journal estimated Whole Foods total workforce at 105,000. This includes nearly 3,000 employees in the Austin area, ranking as the No. According to the most recent Austin Business Journal research, the 19th largest employer in metro is a.
The company was founded in 1980 and has over 500 stores across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Its latest store opened on April 12, just outside Rochester, New York.
The reorganization will be a major step for Whole Foods CEO Jason Buechel. He was appointed chief executive by Whole Foods in September to replace co-founder John Mackey. Buechel was previously chief operating officer, and played a major role in the integration between the grocer's and Amazon.