Upheaval has continued at both Albertsons and Kroger after the grocery chains’ attempt to merge failed in late 2024.
Not long after Albertsons laid off nearly 400 corporate employees in the wake of the failed merger, Kroger said that it is eliminating up to 200 positions at its corporate offices in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A., according to the Cincinnati Business Courier.
The layoffs include corporate Kroger staff, employees in its data compilation and analysis unit, and its Kroger Technology & Digital team.
“As we continue delivering fresh, affordable food to our customers, we are focusing on key priority areas that support our go-to-market strategy. As part of this prioritization work, we announced team restructures and a small number of eliminated roles to improve efficiency,” a Kroger spokesperson said in a statement emailed to SeafoodSource while declining to provide additional details.
Additionally, Kroger named David Kennerley as its new chief financial officer on 12 February. Kennerley, who recently served as senior vice president and CFO for PepsiCo. Europe, will succeed Todd Foley in the new role, who is retiring as senior vice president and interim CFO of Kroger.
"Consistent with Kroger's history of thoughtful succession planning, David and Todd will transition seamlessly to ensure Kroger continues to deliver on its go-to-market strategy, providing access to fresh, affordable food for families across America and, by doing so, creating long-term shareholder value," Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen said.
McMullen credited Foley for stepping into the interim CFO role in 2024 and “ensuring the business did not skip a beat,” and said Kennerley brings “deep experience leading a broad-cross section of U.S. and international finance teams, which helped PepsiCo create shareholder value for nearly 25 years."
Meanwhile, Boise, Idaho, U.S.A.-based Albertsons is combining its Intermountain and Denver divisions into a new division called the Mountain West and is making some executive changes, as well, according to Grocery Dive.
The company’s Intermountain division includes southern Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, northern Nevada, northern Utah, and western Wyoming, while its Denver division covers Colorado, eastern Wyoming, South Dakota, and northwest New Mexico.
“As we continue to evolve and enhance our retail operations, a core part of that effort is ensuring our organizational structure properly enables strong local operational excellence across the regions we serve and also leverages our size and scale,” an Albertsons spokesperson said.
John Colgrove, who heads up the Intermountain Division, will leave the company this summer, while Brad Street, leader of Albertsons’ Seattle, Washington, operations, will step in to oversee the newly created Mountain West Division, according to BoiseDev.
