Kroger Co. plans to cut more than a third of its corporate workforce in the next three years under new CEO Greg Foran, according to an internal memo obtained by Fast Company. Foran joined the grocery giant in February to succeed interim CEO Ron Sargent.

The Cincinnati company’s corporate workforce is around 8,200 people, which means nearly 3,000 roles will be cut. The layoffs will only impact corporate roles, not store or distribution jobs. 

“Simplifying means making faster decisions and deploying more resources where they matter most,” Foran wrote in the memo. “Our company has more lawyers, more handoffs and more overhead than we need.” 

“We have the opportunity to make changes that will create broader roles and faster decision making,” Foran wrote. “This lets us move vital resources closer to the customer to lower prices, invest in our associates and create a better shopping experience.”

Foran also said in the memo that the company “must adapt and take advantage of technology.”

While the memo does not specify artificial intelligence as the technology, Kroger published an AI strategy plan in September, saying it will start using AI models to manage workflows and customer data, and kick off an AI literacy training program for employees. 

Foran has pushed to implement price cuts across Kroger products as the company, which also operates the Fred Meyer and Ralphs grocery store chains, has been trying to compete with Walmart and Costco prices.

Last year, Kroger announced it was cutting nearly 1,000 jobs from its corporate workforce, Fast Company previously reported .

Source link