THE FRIDAY 5: Amazon CEO Talks AI Job Losses; Colorado Safeway Employees Strike

1. UNFI Continues Recovery After Major IT Incident

Following a June 5 cyberattack that crippled its operations and forced it to shut down some of its systems, news came in this week that UNFI is now receiving and shipping orders to grocery customers nationwide. 

UNFI issued the following media statement: “Over the past few days, we’ve made significant progress toward safely restoring our electronic ordering systems, which will allow us to serve the customers that order through these systems in a more automated way and continue to increase our operational capacity. We are also using alternative processes to ensure our customers receive the products they need while we continue making progress to restore our technology capabilities.

“Our customers, suppliers and associates remain our highest priority, and we are working closely with them every step of the way.”

2. Amazon Further Integrates Itself Into Grocery

PG readers were interested in Amazon grocery news this week, as reports came in that the company is preparing to move corporate employees at Whole Foods Market into Amazon’s HR systems, with some longtime Whole Foods leaders moving into new roles within the larger organization. The report cited comments from Whole Foods Market CEO Jason Buechel, who noted in a company memo that the current operating structure includes “duplicative efforts” and a new kind of “one grocery” structure will optimize employee potential within a focused operation.

An Amazon spokesperson told PG that grocery integration under a larger umbrella is part of the company’s plans. “We have a successful and growing grocery business that spans fresh groceries, pantry staples, and everyday household goods, both online and in our stores. To make it even easier to collaborate and innovate on behalf of our customers, we’re continuing to unify teams across our grocery brands. These changes reflect our long-term commitment to making grocery shopping easier, faster, and more affordable for customers,” explained Lauren Snyder. 

She affirmed that the company is working to provide one consistent experience across teams, from a corporate employee standpoint.

Meanwhile, news of a message to employees from Amazon President and CEO Andy Jassy also came in, with Jassy praising GenAI's potential to make customers' lives better and easier. However, Jassy also acknowledged that as the technology weaves itself into virtually every corner of the company, it will change the Amazon workforce. 

“We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” he wrote. “It’s hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.”

He went on to write, “Those who embrace this change, become conversant in AI, [who] help us build and improve our AI capabilities internally and deliver for customers, will be well positioned to have high impact and help us reinvent the company.”

3. Safeway/Albertsons Employees Go on Strike in Colorado

A limited unfair labor practice strike began this week at several Safeway/Albertsons locations in Colorado. Currently, the strikes are limited to locations in four cities, including Estes Park, Fountain and Pueblo, and a distribution center in Denver.

According to UFCW Local 7, the scope of the strike is initially limited to allow time for the public to learn about the issues the workers are dealing with and to give Safeway/Albertsons time to understand the seriousness of the workers’ resolve, while also reducing the hardship on shoppers and workers that a widespread strike would cause.

Local 7 said that negotiations that took place on Wednesday, June 11 didn’t achieve an agreement, so the union issued a required 72-hour notice that night to begin the countdown to the termination of the contract extension agreement. The contract’s original expiration was in January. Contact negotiations have been going on for more than seven months. 

4. Giant Food Exec Shares Repeatable Loyalty Frameworks

Dispatches from PG’s GroceryTech event continued making news this week, this time with a look at how Giant Food keeps value-seeking customers coming back during an era of loyalty fatigue. In a push to get grocers thinking differently, Ryan Draude, head of loyalty and digital at Giant Food, drew from his background in hospitality to share repeatable loyalty frameworks.

Urging attendees to get out of the “sea of sameness,” Draude acknowledged that while many retailers already use such foundational elements as point systems, today’s pressurized environment requires different approaches for better results. 

Read on for more of Draude’s insights.

5. Expansion Plans from Lidl, BJ’s and T&T

Growing food retail footprints gained reader attention this week, starting with Lidl opening its third supermarket in the state of Delaware. Located in the Bear area of Newark, Del., the new supermarket will open its doors on Friday, July 11. 

Additionally, BJ’s is poised to open a new club in Springfield, Mass., which will be the Marlborough, Mass.-based company’s first new location in its home state in 13 years. The club retailer is on course to open up to 30 new sites over the next two years.

Finally,  T&T Supermarkets is continuing its U.S. expansion. Canada’s largest Asian grocery retailer unveiled plans to open its second Southern California store in Chino Hills in fall 2026. Following the reveal of the company’s upcoming SoCal store in the Great Park community of Irvine, Calif., the Chino Hills supermarket will mark the company’s sixth planned location in the United States.