Whole Foods to Record Charges Tied to Job Cuts

Whole Foods Market Inc. expects to record fourth-quarter pretax charges of about $15 million to $22 million in connection with the job cuts it announced Monday.

The natural-and-organic grocer said in a filing Wednesday that the amount of the charges will reflect factors including how many employees find new jobs within the company.

Whole Foods is cutting 1,500 positions, about 1.6% of its workforce, as it works to lower prices and upgrade technology in response to falling sales.

The cuts are unusual for Whole Foods, which grew rapidly for most of its history and prides itself on offering generous pay, stock options and health-care benefits to employees—including its hourly, in-store workers. The jobs being eliminated are regional and store positions, rather than at its Austin, Texas, headquarters, the company said.

Whole Foods has faced intensified competition over the past several years from niche rivals like Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. and from traditional supermarket operators like Kroger Co. stocking more natural foods.

Whole Foods shares were unchanged after hours.

Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 30, 2015 20:55 ET (00:55 GMT)

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