Southern California LE - Albertsons to lay off up to 2,500

On June 17, Albertsons announced that roughly 2,500 employees will be laid off at 247 Southern California and southern Nevada supermarkets. However, Albertsons officials did not say if any stores would be closing or if there would be anymore layoffs.

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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (Catholic Online) - The layoffs will not affect the chain's Intermountain West division or Albertson's 'parent,' SuperValu Inc. Albertsons is the larges retail chain in SuperValu's stores.

"It's the largest single layoff we have had that I can ever remember," said Greg Conger, president of United Food Commercial Workers, Local 324 in Orange County. "It's pretty devastating."

Albertsons was founded in 1939 and currently operates 445 Albertsons and Lucky supermarkets in Southern California, southern Nevada, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. SuperValu Inc. has roughly $35 billion in annual sales, with over 130,000 employees and 4,300 stores, which include 1,102 traditional retail stores with 797 pharmacies; 1,332 hard-discount stores, and 1,900 independent stores.

"Ever since SuperValu purchased Albertsons, they have had difficulty running conventional grocery stores," Conger added. The company specializes in big box stores, he explained. "Most companies look at pricing and see if they are competitive. You never see layoffs like this."

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