Kroger to Cut Nearly 3,000 Corporate Jobs Over Three Years

Kroger Co. plans to cut more than a third of its corporate workforce — nearly 3,000 jobs — over the next three years, according to an internal memo obtained by Fast Company. The Cincinnati-based grocery giant's corporate staff stands at roughly 8,200 people. The layoffs will hit only corporate roles, not store or distribution jobs.

The cuts come under new CEO Greg Foran, who joined the company in February to succeed interim CEO Ron Sargent. Foran didn't mince words in the memo about what's driving the restructuring.

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

He framed the restructuring as a way to push resources toward stores and shoppers.

"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."

What role does AI play in the cuts?

The memo doesn't name artificial intelligence as the technology in question. But Kroger has been building toward it. In September, the company published an AI strategy plan saying it will start using AI models to manage workflows and customer data, and it plans to launch an AI literacy training program for employees.

Foran has also pushed price cuts across Kroger products, Bloomberg reported in May, as the company — which also operates the Fred Meyer and Ralphs chains — fights to compete with Walmart and Costco on price. Moving money out of overhead and into lower shelf prices appears to be the through-line of his agenda.

Is this the first round of layoffs?

No. Last year, Kroger announced it was cutting nearly 1,000 jobs from its corporate workforce, as Fast Company previously reported. At the time, interim CEO Ron Sargent said the savings would be reinvested to open new locations, add store-level jobs and reduce product prices — the same logic Foran is applying now, at roughly triple the scale.

Kroger has also been shuttering locations since June 2025 under a footprint optimization plan that calls for closing 60 stores.

What about the Albertsons dispute?

Kroger has not said whether the new cuts relate to its legal fight with Albertsons. The chain faces a claim of more than $9 billion from Albertsons over the collapse of their merger, which a federal judge blocked on antitrust grounds in December 2024, according to Bloomberg.

Whatever the courtroom outcome, the memo signals Foran's operating thesis: a leaner corporate center funding price cuts in a grocery market where Walmart and Costco keep setting the bar.