In what is becoming a familiar trend in the Bay Area, Safeway has announced that it will close its grocery store located at 231 Jackson St. in Hayward in the early part of next year, as the lease on the property is set to expire with no renewal on the horizon. As per KRON4 News, a spokesperson for the company expressed the company's consideration for the community, stating, "We have been proud to serve the Jackson Triangle neighborhood over the years, and this decision was not made lightly." Despite the closure, the company insists it remains committed to the Hayward community, noting that the Foothill Boulevard store will continue to operate, complete with additional amenities, as per Safeway.
The impending shutdown slated for late February is expected to affect 76 employees currently working at the Jackson St. store, Safeway revealed in an official WARN letter to the state's Employment Development Department, where it emphasized the absence of any anticipated layoffs, furthermore detailing the plan to transfer employees to other store locations within the region, complying with collective bargaining agreements as the workers are backed by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 and Baker’s Union Local 125, according to information reported by Silicon Valley Business Journal. Nevertheless, the company has yet to finalize the exact placement of positions, and specifics are still unclear, including how Safeway determines what is considered "nearby" for these relocations. It is also not immediately clear whether the seniority-based bumping rights held by the soon-to-be-displaced workers could potentially lead to other employees losing their positions.
Despite the store's closure, Safeway aims to support all employees, adhering to its commitment to placement for all associates at alternative locations. "We intend to place all the associates into a position at another nearby location," Terra Powers, a Safeway vice president of human resources, assured in the WARN letter, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Safeway's decision to close the store is a strategic choice linked to the end of their lease term for the space rather than a broader reflection of the company's financial health, as evidenced by their recent profit report showing an increase over last year's figures to $168.5 million on revenue of $18.92 billion.
