Kroger laying off hundreds of workers

Cincinnati-based Kroger is laying off hundreds of employees, including managers, at its grocery stores, according to national media reports.

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Kroger Co., which also owns Harris Teeter, Ralphs and Fred Meyer, has 443,000 full-time and part-time workers.

"At Kroger, we are constantly evolving our business to ensure we build the teams and leaders who will deliver an amazing experience for our customers and associates both now and in the future," a Kroger spokeswoman said. "A key part of this evolution is moving resources closer to the customer by putting our top talent into our store leadership positions."

A spokeswoman told CNBC that many store operating divisions are evaluating middle management roles and team structures. A person close to the situation told the news organization that Kroger would lay off hundreds of people.

Kroger shares were down about 3 percent Thursday morning from five days ago.

The company has been rolling out its Restock Kroger plan to compete with other grocers with digital sales. The grocery wars have been heating up in recent years with increased pressures from discounters like Aldi and Walmart have been steadily increasing their share of grocery sales.

Cox Media Group