Whole Foods shedding jobs for lower prices

Whole Foods Market says it is slashing more than 1% of its workforce in an effort to lower prices for its customers and invest in technology upgrades.

The grocery chainsaysit will cut about 1,500 jobs, or 1.6% of its workforce, over the next eight weeks. The company says many of the reductions will come through attrition.

“This is a very difficult decision, and we are committed to treating affected Team Members in a caring and respectful manner. We have offered them several options including transition pay, a generous severance, or the opportunity to apply for other jobs. In addition, we will pay these Team Members in full over the next eight weeks as they decide which option to choose.” said Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market. “We believe this is an important step to evolve Whole Foods Market in a rapidly changing marketplace.”

Whole Foods says it anticipates workers whose jobs are cut will find other jobs from the almost 2,000 open positions across the company or from new jobs that'll be created by more than 100 new stores in development.

Whole Foods was recently hurt by bad publicity when New York City officials found it was overcharging customers.

The company has been facing intense competition and is trying to appeal to a broader audience by opening a new slate of budget stores called 365.

Whole Foods has had a series of disappointing quarterly results this year, and its stock has plummeted more than 40% within the last six months.