Whole Foods Market plans to lay off hundreds of corporate employees, becoming the latest in restructuring its workforce amid a tightening macroeconomic environment.
Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon.com (AMZN), is adjusting the structure of some of its affiliate teams. The company currently operates in nine regions, but after a restructuring, it will only have six, according to an internal memo reviewed by Barron. The note stated that the reductions will be concentrated in some global and regional teams.
The Wall Street Journal broke the news on Thursday afternoon.
A company spokeswoman said the cuts would affect less than 0.5% of its total workforce. There were no plans to lay off employees at the stores or distribution centers, and Whole Foods currently has about 50 new stores in the pipeline, she said.
“We are evolving our operating structure and making adjustments to some corporate teams, so that we can better support our stores as the Whole Foods market continues to grow and expand to serve more customers,” the spokeswoman said in an email.
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Layoffs have been gradually creeping through the US economy this year as companies struggle with higher interest rates and lower consumer demand. Amazon, the parent company of Whole Foods, said last month it would cut an additional 9,000 jobs after a round of layoffs of 18,000 jobs in January.
While the cuts started in the technology sector, they have spread to other industries, including retail. Companies announcing job cuts now include McDonald’s Corp (MCD), Best Buy (BBY), Wayfair (W), General Motors (GM), FedEx (FDX), Boeing (BA), UBS (UBS), and Walt Disney (). DIS).
According to job cuts, according to recruitment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas rose 15% in March from February, with US employers announcing layoffs of 89,703 employees. This represents an increase of 319% from March 2024.
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Technology and financial services companies have cut the most jobs this year, but retailers ranked fourth in what Challenger, Gray and Christmas called “a possible sign of lower expectations for consumer spending.” Retail sales fell 1% in March compared to February, which was a larger decline than economists had expected.
The retail industry has cut 21,426 jobs so far this year through March 2024, up from 1,617 during the same period last year, According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
For many large companies – including Whole Foods and McDonald’s – layoffs have focused on the corporate level. Employment at the store or restaurant level has remained resilient as the industry overcomes a labor shortage that has made service sector employees a hot commodity. In the latest jobs report, the leisure and hospitality sector continued to post gains.
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Grocers have also felt the pressure of the labor shortage, experts say.
Carol Appel, vice president of education for the Food Industry Association of America, writes a report This month.
But as the economy slows, the job market may loosen up for retailers. Retail employment fell by 15,000 in March, driven by declines in a handful of sub-sectors, including building materials merchants, and in home furnishings, electronics, and hardware retailers.
Recently, Best Buy said it would lay off sales staff. Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) and David’s Bridal also announced widespread employee stocking cuts as they grapple with financial challenges. Bed Bath is trying to avoid filing for bankruptcy and David’s Bridal sought protection from its creditors this week.
Write to Sabrina Escobar at [email protected]