Food Lion HQ Slashes 29 Positions

Food Lion and its parent company, Delhaize America, are eliminating 29 positions at corporate headquarters in Salisbury, N.C., according to a published report. The headquarters employs 2,200 people, and many of the affected associates will be able to apply for positions at the grocer’s home office or stores, Christy Phillips-Brown, director of external communications, told the Salisbury Post.

The laid-off employees work in a variety of jobs, from business support to retail operation support. Their last days will range from Sept. 14 to the end of the year, depending on their duties, and eligible associates will get severance packages.

The layoffs are part of a brand strategy Food Lion has rolled out at more than 700 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia that includes lowering prices, improving services, streamlining operations and repositioning the company for future success.

The company this year has added 2,100 jobs at the retail level, Phillips-Brown told the newspaper, although Delhaize America closed 113 underperforming Food Lion stores, exited Florida and phased out the Bloom banner in January, cutting about 4,900 in the process. Food Lion currently operates 1,127 stores and has 58,000 employees.