VIRGINIA BEACH — Virginia WARN announced that more than 1,000 Farm Fresh employees will be laid off from Virginia Beach and Norfolk locations in May.
This round of layoffs also impacts employees working at some Chesapeake and Hampton stores. The Virginia WARN announcement comes nearly a week after the agency announced that 1,037 employees would be laid off from stores in locations in Williamsburg, Newport News and Richmond.
More than 3,100 employees will be impacted altogether, as of the Monday Virginia WARN announcement.
Related story: 8 Farm Fresh stores in Virginia Beach, Norfolk to be sold
The layoffs do not come as a surprise to Farm Fresh employees, who were given notice on March 14 — the same day that the grocery stores’ parent company, SuperValu, Inc., announced that it intends to sell 21 of its 38 Farm Fresh stores in Eastern Virginia and Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
“We are confident our efforts are driving growth and enhancing our competitive position,” said SuperValu President and CEO Mark Gross, adding that the decision will allow the company to allocate more resources to its wholesale operations.
The locations will remain grocery stores.
SuperValu announced that big names like Kroger, Harris Teeter and Food Lion will buy the Farm Fresh locations for a combined $43 million — including five stores in Virginia Beach, where the brand is headquartered, and three in Norfolk.
Related story: More than 1,000 layoffs announced for Farm Fresh employees
The future of the remaining 17 Farm Fresh stores is in the air.
In a March 21 email, SuperValu spokesman Michael Wilken said the company is in “ongoing” talks with wholesale customers and grocery store employees about potentially selling the remaining Farm Fresh stores, although he could not confirm the timeline of these events.
According to Virginia WARN, on May 14 employees from the following stores will be laid off:
- 69 employees: 521 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach
- 58 employees: 1385 Fordham Drive, Virginia Beach
- 94 employees: 2058 S. Independence Blvd., Virginia Beach
- 86 employees: 799 Chimney Hill Shopping Center, Virginia Beach
- 71 employees: 4876 Princess Anne Road, Virginia Beach
- 134 employees: 2110 Great Neck Square Shopping Center, Virginia Beach
- 71 employees: 4001 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach
- 98 employees: 1069 Independence Blvd., Virginia Beach
- 92 employees: 2129 General Booth Blvd., Virginia Beach
- 77 employees: 1615 General Booth Blvd., Virginia Beach
- 88 employees: 928 Diamond Springs Road, Virginia Beach
- 104 employees: 230 E. Little Creek Road, Norfolk
- 65 employees: 201 E. Berkley Avenue, Norfolk
- 78 employees: 1200 N. Military Hwy. Norfolk
- 81 employees: 730 W. 21st St., Norfolk
- 94 employees: 309 S. Battlefield Blvd., Chesapeake
- 58 employees: 701 N Battlefield Blvd suite A, Chesapeake
- 82 employees: 1620 Cedar Rd #100, Chesapeake
- 78 employees: 1464 Mt. Pleasant Road, Chesapeake
- 85 employees: 1400 Kempsville Road, Suit 109, Chesapeake
- 88 employees: 115 Norge Lane, Williamsburg
- 88 employees: 4511 John Tyler Hwy., Williamsburg
- 69 employees: 460 Wythe Creek Road, Poquoson
- 92 employees: 353 Chatham Drive, Newport News
- 100 employees: 4000 Victory Blvd., Portsmouth
- 80 employees: 3675 Bridge Road, Suffolk
- 95 employees: 1401 N. Main Street, Suffolk
- 100 employees: 1282 Smithfield Plaza, Smithfield
- 77 employees: 6500 George Washington Memorial Hwy., Grafton
- 87 employees: 7254 George Washington Memorial Hwy., Hayes
- 84 employees: 2320 E Main Street, Richmond
- 77 employees: 1459 Armory Drive, Franklin
- 82 employees: 30 Towne Centre Way, Hampton
- 102 employees: 2190 Coliseum Drive, Hampton
- 111 employees: 227 Fox Hill Road, Hampton
- 70 employees: 608 E Mercury Blvd., Hampton
An additional 67 employees will be laid off from Farm Fresh store #23450. That store No. did not appear in the grocery store’s online locator. Wilken was unable to confirm which address this store belongs to Monday morning.
“We continue to work with the buyers of the 21 stores to ensure a smooth transition and expect them to offer positions to many Farm Fresh employees,” Wilken wrote in an email, adding that eligible employees will likely receive severance and “job transition support.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article did not include some stores that will have layoffs. The layoffs were announced via Virginia WARN over the weekend.
