Minnesota to Lose Supervalu Inc. Jobs

Bad news is coming to workers in Minnesota, at least to the ones who call Supervalu Inc. their employer. The company made an announcement earlier this week that they were getting ready to reduce their workforce. It looks like the company is getting ready to get rid of about 800 workers in order to make ends meet and get the companies in the best possible fiscal position.

While at the current moment we do not know much about where the bulk of the layoffs will come from, but we do know that about one-quarter of the layoffs, or about 200 workers who will have their jobs cut will come from the corporate headquarters in Eden Prairie.

Craig Herkert, Supervalu’s chief executive officer and president, had the following to say about the layoffs in an official statement released by the company, “While the announcement of a workforce reduction is difficult news to share, due to its direct impact on our associates, these changes will allow us to better connect with customers and put more authority in the hands of people who interact more closely with our customers.”

In the same statement the company also said that the store level staff would not be impacted by the cuts. The store managers, clerks and stock staff are not expected to lose a high number of jobs.  The company’s statement about the cuts from the same release has the following to say about the benefits that the employees will receive, “Associates whose positions are eliminated will be eligible for severance and outplacement services based on our eligibility guidelines.”  So while we may not have a lot of details about the exact package that the workers will get, we do know that at least some of them are going to get more help than the standard unemployment benefits.

The layoffs are being attributed not to a loss of profits, but to the company’s strategic plan to streamline the company. The company has previously stated that they are looking to, “remove permanent expenses from its business,” and to “necessary in helping the company achieve its plan to deliver more competitive pricing to its customers.” So basically the company has found a way to reduce its costs and get more work out of less workers.

For those of you who are not familiar with Supervalu here is how the retail chain describes itself , “SUPERVALU^® is a leader in the grocery retailing industry. We are a grocery and pharmacy company serving a wide range of customers in neighborhoods nationwide, through stores ranging from hard discount to traditional and premium grocery formats. SUPERVALU reaches millions of families with the products and services they need through owned, licensed, franchised and affiliated stores.”

The company is set to finish off the layoffs by the end of the company’s fiscal year, which is Feb. 25. So the workers will know who is out of a job soon and have little to no time to plan for the loss of their jobs, with the cuts being less than 20 days away.