Kroger makes a tough decision as customers turn to rivals

Kroger, which owns supermarket chains such as Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, and Ralphs, is making a notable change to its workforce operations as price-conscious customers increasingly turn to rival retailers.

The company has been struggling to significantly boost its sales as customers grow more cautious about their spending. Kroger revealed in its latest earnings report that its identical sales (excluding fuel) increased 0.2% year over year in the second quarter of 2026.

According to a Numerator report , shoppers have been gradually shifting their spending elsewhere , with more than $12 billion in CPG (consumer packaged goods) spending moving from Kroger to Walmart, Costco, and Amazon over the past year.

On an earnings call in September , Kroger CEO Greg Foran said customers continue to be "disciplined" with their spending in stores amid economic pressures such as "reductions in SNAP benefits" and "higher fuel prices." He emphasized that "customers have choices, and it is up to us to provide them with that choice."

Kroger plans thousands of corporate layoffs

Amid its efforts to win over customers during a period of economic uncertainty, Kroger has decided to shrink its corporate workforce, a move it claims will help make its in-store pricing more affordable.

According to a recent Bloomberg report , Foran sent a memo to employees revealing Kroger's plan to cut roughly 3,000 corporate jobs across multiple departments over the next three years. It currently has 8,200 corporate employees, making this round of layoffs one of the largest in the company's history.

"Simplifying means making faster decisions and deploying more resources where they matter most," wrote Foran in the memo.

He said the company has too many layers and too much overhead. Foran revealed that Kroger will reduce duplicative work and use technologies such as artificial intelligence to streamline its workflow.

In the memo, he also said the job cuts will help the company put more resources toward reducing prices in its stores, enhancing the customer shopping experience, and investing in frontline employees.

Kroger plans to share more details in the next few months about which roles will be affected by the layoffs.

Kroger looks to regain its competitive edge

Kroger's upcoming job cuts come after it laid off nearly 1,000 corporate employees last year to cut costs , a move executed under the leadership of Ronald Sargent, who served as the company's interim CEO in 2025.