FILE IMAGE - An independent contractor wearing a protective mask and gloves moves shopping carts with Amazon Prime grocery bags to a car outside a Whole Foods Market in Berkeley, California, U.S., on Oct.
7, 2020. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloo Amazon will shutter six of its Whole Foods Market stores in the United States.The impacted stores are located in Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama; Tarzana, California; the Engelwood and DePaul neighborhoods of Chicago, Illinois; and Brookline, Massachusetts.
The Englewood location is expected to close in the coming months, while the other five stores are expected to close by May 6. "As we continue to position Whole Foods Market for long-term success, we regularly evaluate the performance and growth potential of each of our stores, and we have made the difficult decision to close six stores," a spokesperson for Whole Foods told FOX Business. "We are supporting impacted Team Members through this transition and expect that all interested, eligible Team Members will find positions at our other locations."The spokesperson declined to disclose the total number of employees that would be impacted by the closures.
The company has more than 530 Whole Foods locations nationwide.Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the Chicago Whole Foods closures were "disappointing" and that her administration "will work to repurpose these locations in a way that continues to serve the community and support the surrounding businesses." Amazon acquired Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017.Throughout 2020, Amazon gained a profit of $21.3 billion, compared to $11.6 billion in 2019.The move comes about two months after Amazon announced plans to shutter its physical bookstores, Pop Up stores and 4-star stores.