Whole Foods to Lay Off Hundreds of Corporate Employees in Company-Wide Restructuring of Certain Teams The company announced on Thursday that new changes would impact employees in "different ways."
By Madeline Garfinkle •
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As Whole Foods begins a company-wide restructuring plan to examine company costs, several hundred employees will be laid off, multiple outlets have reported.
In a memo released to employees on Thursday, Whole Foods stated it will carry out a variety of changes over the next two months and make changes to its Global and Regional Support Teams that would impact those workers "in different ways."
"While change is necessary and healthy for a sustainable business, it can also be very challenging, particularly when it affects the lives of Team Members," the company wrote in the memo, obtained by CNBC.
In addition to layoffs, Whole Foods said it is reducing its operating regions from nine to six. However, the downsizing of operating regions will not result in any store closures, the company wrote in the memo, but rather redrawing the map of operations so that some locations with join other regions.
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"As we simplify processes and improve how we operate, we will be able to quickly respond to evolving business needs, focus more on our most impactful work, and invest in new ways to serve all stakeholders," the memo said.
The exact number of employees laid off remains unclear, but some now-former employees are posting about being laid off on LinkedIn.
"Almost 3 years ago to the date I was laid off during the pandemic. Unfortunately today, I'm having deja vu," one former employee wrote in a LinkedIn post. "It's with a heavy heart that I share that my position at Whole Foods Market was eliminated."
