Whole Foods To Cut 1,500 Jobs In Effort To Lower Prices
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Grocery chain Whole Foods is cutting about 1,500 jobs, or 1.6 percent of its workforce, over the next eight weeks as it looks to lower prices and keep up with competition.
Whole Foods Market Inc. said Monday that many of the reductions will come through attrition. It anticipates workers whose jobs are cut will find other jobs from the almost 2,000 open positions across the company or from new jobs that'll be created by more than 100 new stores in development.
Whole Foods was recently hurt by bad publicity when New York City officials found it was overcharging customers.
The company has been facing intense competition, with the organic offerings it's known for becoming more widely available. It's trying to appeal to a broader audience, with plans to open a new chain of "365" stores with lower prices, with its first location set to open next year in downtown Los Angeles.
The new 41,000-square-foot flagship store currently under construction at 770 Grand Avenue could bring as many as 200 full-time jobs to the area, according to company officials.
Leases have been signed for additional locations, including one in Santa Monica.
In July, Whole Foods executives issued a public apology after revealing the store mistakenly overcharged customers in New York on certain foods.
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