LONG BEACH (CBSLA) – Kroger, the parent company of Ralphs and Food 4 Less, announced Monday that it will close two of its Long Beach stores following the passage of a law that increased the salary of grocery store workers by $ 4 per hour.
Kroger reported that on April 17 it will close its Ralphs store at 3380 N. Los Coyotes Diagonal and its Food 4 Less store at 2185 E. South St.
“As a result of the City of Long Beach’s decision to pass an ordinance requiring additional pay for grocery workers, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close long-term stores in Long Beach,” the company in a press release. “This wrong action by Long Beach City Council goes beyond the traditional bargaining process and applies to some, but not all, of the city’s grocery workers.”
Last month, Long Beach City Council passed an ordinance requiring supermarkets with at least 300 employees nationwide to provide their employees with a supplement of $ 4 per additional hour for at least the next 120 days due to the risks of work during the coronavirus pandemic.
Currently, Los Angeles City Councilors are considering a similar motion that would provide workers in their grocery stores an additional $ 5 per hour.
Last March and April, as the pandemic unfolded, several major grocery stores and retailers, including Kroger, Walmart, Target, and Albertsons, provided their employees with one-time bonuses or temporary $ 2 per hour wage increases.
Kroger said Monday it has spent $ 1.3 billion since the start of the pandemic to “reward partners and implement dozens of security measures.”