Whole Foods plans to cut about 1,500 jobs

NEW YORK - Grocery chain Whole Foods (WFM) 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 stores with lower prices.