Lake County officials are in the throes of legal strategizing, seeking to retrieve over $1.3 million in economic incentive payments after Kroger announced the shutdown of its Groveland fulfillment center. According to ClickOrlando, with roughly 1,000 jobs poised to disappear following Kroger's decision to cease operations at the facility which it ran alongside Ocado Solutions, local leaders are projecting a sense of urgency akin to responding to a disaster, as noted by Lake County Commissioner Sean Parks, who voiced his frustration publicly, stating, “I’m angry about this and, you know, finding out so quickly and the rug being pulled out from underneath us is certainly angering to me.”
Groveland, too, is rising to challenge Kroger's sudden exit, as the city had also extended financial incentives in the form of waived fees, expecting steady employment opportunities over a 10-year period that Kroger promised, yet only delivered for three years, and "Groveland’s mayor stated he is working with attorneys to address the situation," WFTV reported.
Lake County discussions are geared toward more than just recouping the financial incentives, as they're exploring reallocating $400,000 previously earmarked for Kroger and Ocado Solutions to CareerSource Central Florida, with the hope of aiding the employees soon to be out of work, "That will be allocating what was going to be that incentive directly to them to try to help them,” Parks said, as per ClickOrlando report.
The pursuit of funds initially granted in goodwill now takes on a form of a legal tussle with the county issuing a letter to Ocado indicating a possible breach of contract, citing Kroger's public closure announcement as an indication that Ocado-powered operations would also grind to a halt, the termination agreements being placed on the docket for the Lake County Commission meeting on Dec. 2, during which the financial recoup and support for displaced workers will be on the table for discussion.
