RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - National grocery chain Kroger will shutter all stores in North Carolina’s Triangle region in a move that will affect around 1,500 workers.
News outlets report that the Cincinnati, Ohio-based company announced Wednesday that all 14 stores will be closed by Aug. 14.
The president of Kroger’s mid-Atlantic division, Jerry Clontz, says the Raleigh-Durham market is oversaturated with grocery stores, inhibiting the chain’s growth. Kroger entered the market in 1989.
The future of at least 10 locations has already been determined, as Kroger has entered into contracts with Food Lion, Crunch Fitness and Harris Teeter, the last of which the chain owns.
As for the affected employees, Clontz says they’ll be offered job fairs and job placement services. The company says more than half the employees are part-time.
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