Kroger plans to cut about 3,000 corporate jobs over the next three years, a move that could hit workers at the grocery giant's Cincinnati headquarters and its Blue Ash offices.

CEO Greg Foran announced the restructuring in an internal memo on Oct. 12, as first reported by WLWT, which obtained the document. The cuts represent about 37% of Kroger's 8,200 corporate positions, the Economic Times reported, citing Bloomberg News.

The memo did not specify when layoffs would begin or which departments would be affected.

Kroger, headquartered downtown, also leases office space at 11511 Reed Hartman Highway in Blue Ash, part of the Ensemble Health Partners campus. The company subleased that space for additional corporate workers, according to the Blue Ash Advance. The number of employees at that location has not been disclosed.

The planned cuts follow Kroger's elimination of nearly 1,000 corporate positions in 2025. About 200 of those jobs were local, WLWT reported at the time. The company said at the time that the reductions aimed to simplify operations.

"These are difficult decisions, and we do not make them lightly," the latest memo said, according to WLWT. "This is the right thing to do for the company's long-term future."

Foran wrote that the restructuring would redirect resources toward stores and customers. "Simplifying means making faster decisions and deploying more resources where they matter most," he wrote, according to Bloomberg via the Economic Times.

Ben Brennan, a senior research associate at the Alpaugh Family Economics Center at the University of Cincinnati, said the cuts could shrink the pipeline for younger workers.

"There's way less entry-level hiring going on," Brennan told WLWT. "That's been bad news for younger workers."

Brennan also said Kroger's financial position raises questions about whether artificial intelligence is being used to justify some of the reductions.

Michael Jones, a University of Cincinnati economics professor, told WLWT the restructuring stems partly from competitive price pressures over the past two years, driven by low-cost grocers like Walmart and upscale competitors like Whole Foods Market.

WLWT reported that Kroger had not responded to its request for comment or provided details about the layoff timeline.

Kroger is scheduled to host its 2026 Investor Day on Tuesday, Oct. 20, where executives are expected to outline strategic priorities and the company's long-term financial outlook, according to a Kroger press release.