By Mark Basch
Contributing Writer
Southeastern Grocers LLC, the Jacksonville-based parent of the Winn-Dixie, Bi-Lo and Harveys supermarket chains, announced a restructuring of its store support facilities Thursday that will affect about 250 workers in seven states.
The company will not say how many of those jobs are at its Store Support Center in Jacksonville.
The restructuring is part of a comprehensive review under new Southeastern Grocers CEO Ian McLeod, who joined the company in March. The company said in a statement the restructuring will simplify its operating model and increase efficiency.
“The changes will enable Southeastern Grocers to reinvest in improved quality, service and value for customers, develop store improvement programs across the network and support the stores more effectively,” it said.
“The efficiencies will also enable Southeastern Grocers to better address the needs of its customers,” it said.
The affected workers will be assisted through the company’s career transition services, it said.
Southeastern Grocers operates more than 750 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina under the three brand names. The company said the restructuring of the support centers will not impact in-store operations.
According to its website, the company employs nearly 72,000 people throughout its system.
The company was basically formed when Bi-Lo LLC acquired Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. in 2012. Although Bi-Lo was headquartered in Greenville, S.C., it decided to put the headquarters of the merged company at Winn-Dixie’s offices in Jacksonville.
It acquired the Harveys chain from the Delhaize Group in 2014.
Although it operated under the Bi-Lo corporate name, the company filed plans for an initial public offering under the name Southeastern Grocers. The company withdrew plans for the IPO in August 2014 but in May this year, it changed the corporate name to Southeastern Grocers LLC.
Southeastern Grocers remains privately owned by funds associated with Dallas-based Lone Star Funds.