NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) said more than one thousand Farm Fresh workers will be out of work due to "closure" and "(mass) layoff."
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Notices appeared on the agency's website.
The list includes 11 Farm Fresh locations in the Hampton Roads are and one in Richmond.
Some of the stores listed are among the 21 which Farm Fresh's owner, SUPERVALU INC., said it would be selling to Harris Teeter, Kroger Mid-Atlantic Division, and Food Lion.
Other locations were not listed as part of the transactions. SUPERVALU initially indicated it may look for other buyers for those locations.
The number of layoffs listed on VEC's website total 1,057, nearly one-third the number of employees who currently work for Farm Fresh.
The stores listed as closing, and the number of employees affected are as follows:
460 Wythe Creek Road, Poquoson
- 69 employees
115 Norge Lane, Williamsburg
- 88 employees
4511 John Tyler Highway, Williamsburg
3675 Bridge Road, Suffolk
- 80 employees
1401 North Main Street, Suffolk
- 95 employees
2320 East Main Street, Richmond
- 84 employees
4000 Victory Boulevard, Portsmouth
- 100 employees
1282 Smithfield Plaza, Smithfield
1459 Armory Drive, Franklin
- 77 employees
6500 George Washington Memorial Highway, Grafton
- 93 employees
7254 George Washington Memorial Highway, Hayes
- 87 employees
353 Chatham Drive, Newport News
- 92 employees
A spokesman for SUPERVALU INC. referred 13News Now to the company's plan to "exit the Farm Fresh banner" and provided this statement:
As part of this announcement we provided all Farm Fresh employees with notification letters and a minimum 60-day notice as required by law, but we can extend beyond 60 days if necessary. 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. In addition, we plan to offer eligible employees severance and other job transition support.
The most important point for stores and communities not included in the sale announcement last week is that we are continuing discussions and exploring potential transactions to sell the remaining Farm Fresh stores to current and prospective SUPERVALU wholesale customers and certain Farm Fresh employees. I don’t have a specific timeline to share on the outcome of these discussions other than to say they are ongoing.
► Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13News Now App.