Whole Foods to cut about 1500 jobs over next 8 weeks

Whole Foods Market will eliminate approximately 1,500 jobs, or 1.6% of its workforce, over the next eight weeks, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 28. “In addition, we will pay these Team Members in full over the next eight weeks as they decide which option to choose.” said Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods apologized and said the mistakes, which involved nine of its 425 locations, were unintentional.

The layoffs come as Whole Foods finds itself competing against not just other upscale or all-natural grocers but traditional supermarkets like Kroger (NYSE:KR) and big-box stores like Target (NYSE:TGT) and Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) that sell an increasingly large offering of organic and natural fare.

The Complaint alleges that Whole Foods misled investors by failing to adequately disclose that (i) the Company routinely overstated the weight of its pre-packaged products and overcharged customers; and (ii) as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ statements about Whole Foods’ business, operations, and prospects were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. Whole Foods said in May that it’s gearing up to open a new, lower-cost chain of stores next year aimed at younger shoppers.

Whole Foods has been working for more than two years to cut prices and fix its reputation for high prices, but tactics like more deals have yet to boost sales to the extent hoped.

The company said that its employees might be able to shift into new jobs opening as the company works on developing 100 new stores. Sales increased 8% to a record $3,632 million for the quarter from $3,377 million the year before. It said it would offer “generous severance” to those who leave.