The Kroger Co.’s Quality Food Centers is shutting down two of its Seattle stores, a decision the company says is accelerated by a new city mandate that requires hazard pay of an additional $4 an hour for grocery store workers due to COVID. According to current plans, the two locations will stay open through April 24 until the closing process is completed. QVF said that it is providing the mandated hazard pay to all associates, including those in the closing stores.
This move comes two weeks after The Kroger Co. said it would shut down two stores (one Ralph's location, one Food 4 Less location) in Long Beach, California because of a similar ordinance enacted in January. These locations are scheduled to shut down April 17.
John Votava, spokesman for the Ralph's division of The Kroger Co., told SFA News Daily, "We’ve made the difficult decision to permanently close two underperforming store locations in Long Beach, California and two more in Seattle to ensure we can continue to operate other local stores as a result of ordinances recently passed by the Long Beach and Seattle City Councils, requiring extra pay for some, but not all local frontline workers. Despite our efforts to overcome the financial challenges we were already facing in these locations, the extra pay imposed by city councils make it impossible to run a financially sustainable business that can offer affordable fresh groceries, provide jobs with potential for growth and support community organizations. Grocery stores operate on razor-thin margins and these mandates increase our operating costs by 20-30 percent, putting any struggling store in jeopardy."
Votava added, "To be clear, we’re not opposed to wage increases. We’ll continue to operate stores in both cities, and our associates will receive the additional pay as mandated by the local government. This extra pay is in addition to the total compensation package the organization has long offered to associates, which includes competitive wages, comprehensive health care and a reliable pension. Our most urgent priority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been to provide a safe environment for our associates and customers. To date, we’ve invested $1.5 billion to safeguard our associates and customers as well as acknowledge our associates’ commitment through a variety of bonuses, additional pay and recognitions, like the $50 million in rewards we issued last week. We are proud of our dedicated associates who are on the frontlines, serving our customers when they need us most and this forced action is quite unfortunate. We are truly saddened that our associates and customers will ultimately be the real victims of the city councils’ actions. "
United Food and Commercial Workers International condemned Kroger for these closings. In a statement, president Marc Perrone said, “Since the pandemic began, Kroger has made billions in profits because of the sacrifices of grocery workers who have been putting their own health and safety on the line every day. Rather than provide the hazard pay these grocery workers have earned and deserve, Kroger decided to threaten these workers and the community’s access to food in the middle of a public health crisis. City leaders stepped up to take care of these essential grocery workers and ensure they receive hazard pay for the danger they face. Kroger closing these stores is truly outrageous conduct and a ruthless attempt to create a chilling effect that will discourage other cities from doing what is right and enacting hazard pay mandates that recognize the threat these workers face from COVID-19.”
"As America’s largest food and retail union, UFCW will use every tool available to ensure that Kroger follows the law and that our state and federal leaders hold companies accountable for flagrantly choosing to evade these vital workplace laws," Perrone continued.
Related: Kroger Pays Employees to Receive Vaccine; Kroger Builds Additional CFC in Phoenix.