Kroger layoffs: Why the grocery giant is axing 1,000 corporate workers as it closes dozens of stores

It’s not just the tech industry that is being battered by mass layoffs this year. Grocery store giant The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is reportedly cutting nearly 1,000 jobs from its corporate workforce. Here’s why, and how the company’s stock is reacting.

What’s happened?

Yesterday, Kroger interim CEO Ron Sargent reportedly sent a memo to employees announcing that the company would lay off hundreds of corporate workers. A source who spoke to Reuters said the layoffs would total fewer than 1,000 employees. Kroger currently employs around 409,000 workers, the majority of whom work in its 2,700 grocery stores, which include Kroger, Food4Less, CityMarket, and more.

In the memo sent to employees, Sargent revealed that “In the past few months, we have all looked for ways to simplify the organizati