Retailer cites need to remove duplication in corporate roles
Kroger Co. is eliminating 37%, or about 3,000 employees, of its corporate workforce, in one of the retailer's biggest rounds of job cuts on record.
The cuts were announced by Kroger chief executive officer Greg Foran in a memo viewed and reported by Bloomberg News.
Foran, in the memo, underscored the need to reduce duplicative work as the retailer has more layers and overhead than needed.
"Simplifying means making faster decisions and deploying more resources where they matter most," said Foran in the memo quoted by the news outlet.
The retailer, which has approximately 8,200 corporate employees, has yet to release details about who will be impacted by the cuts, according to Bloomberg, but it is expecting details in the coming months.
The report also noted that the cuts are the latest changes at Kroger under Foran, who stepped into the role in February. He is known for also serving as president and CEO of Walmart US from 2014 to 2019.
The cuts came at a time of slowing growth, heightened competition, and persistent inflation concerns for the retailer, according to Bloomberg, adding that the reductions will help the company put more resources into investing in frontline employees, cutting prices and improving the shopping experience for customers.
Use of AI at Kroger
Meanwhile, the cuts at Kroger also come in the wake of the company's growing use of artificial intelligence tools in a bid to make its workflow more efficient.
Yael Cosset, executive vice president and chief digital officer, recently described the company's AI journey in three stages: assisted, augmented, and autonomous.
"The goal is not autonomy everywhere," said Cosset in a separate announcement in September.
"The goal is using the right level of AI based on risk, repeatability and the need for human judgement. Different cases will sit at different stages, and strong governance remains at the centre."
AI has been the leading reason for job cuts across the United States, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. It has been cited for 120,136 announced job cuts, approximately 21% of all cuts this year.
