They will turn the city into a food desert
The list of Southern California stores that have been forced to close over government-implemented “hero pay” hikes has grown to five after three more locations announced they will close their doors.
Two Ralph’s locations and one Food 4 Less location, both owned by the grocery giant Kroger, in West Los Angeles will close due in part, the company says, to a Los Angeles City Council mandate requiring some employers to provide an additional $5 per hour in hazard pay for workers on the “front-lines” during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Fox 11 Los Angeles.
The mandate will add an additional $20 million in operating costs over the next 120 days, making it financially unsustainable to continue operating underperforming locations,” Kroger said in a news release. “The Los Angeles City Council disregarded their own Economic Impact Report by not considering that grocery stores – even in a pandemic – operate on razor-thin profit margins in a very competitive landscape.”
Kroger, the country's largest grocery chain, says the hourly wage for a Ralph's or Food 4 Less employee is $18 on average and comes out to $24 an hour when benefits are factored in. The company says they have invested $2.5 billion in rewards to associates who work during the pandemic, securing pensions and implementing safety measures.
The Washington Examiner reached out to several members of the Los Angeles City Council but did not immediately receive a response.
Earlier this year, two additional underperforming Kroger locations in nearby Long Beach, California, were forced to close due to the Long Beach City Council’s move to implement a $4 hero pay hike.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who supported the pay hike, slammed Kroger for closing the locations.
“The Kroger corporation is closing two markets in Long Beach because our city is requiring temporary hero’s pay for grocery workers during this pandemic,” Garcia tweeted. “Grocers are making record profits. We go to court this month, and we will defend the workers vigorously.”
A spokesperson for Kroger told the Washington Examiner that a total of 289 associates will be affected by the closures at the three locations.