Kroger plans to eliminate roughly 3,000 corporate roles over the next three years as it expands artificial-intelligence tools and reorganizes work across the company. The reductions would affect about 37% of its approximately 8,200 corporate employees, with details on affected positions expected to be communicated in the coming months.
CEO Greg Foran said Kroger has too many organizational layers, handoffs and overhead. He said technology could reduce duplicated work, while the restructuring would help the grocer lower prices and invest in store employees. Kroger has not identified which departments will be affected or provided a detailed schedule for the cuts.
Foran became CEO in February and has focused on lowering prices and improving the shopping experience as Kroger competes with Walmart, Aldi, Costco and Amazon. The company has also outlined an AI strategy that includes using models to manage workflows and customer data to support tools such as an AI shopping assistant.
Kroger recently lowered its annual identical-sales target while seeking additional price cuts as consumers face pressure from high gas prices. The company has also changed several senior leadership roles, including appointments for e-commerce, store operations, people, and data and AI functions.
Albertsons is seeking at least $8 billion in damages, while Kroger disputes that claim; a trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 19 in Delaware.