Whole Foods to eliminate 1,500 jobs

Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) announced Monday it would eliminate 1,500 jobs and lower prices in an attempt to reduce costs and stay profitable against increasing competition from other supermarket chains.

The layoffs – about 1.6 percent of the Austin, Texas-based company’s workforce – will occur over the next eight weeks. Many of the positions will be lost through attrition, according to Bloomberg Business.

In July, Whole Foods reported slow growth in third-quarter profits and sales. Shares fell 0.7 percent to $30.88 shortly after the market opened Monday, with a 38 percent decrease in per share prices so far this year.

Facing competitive prices in the natural and organic foods market from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Kroger Co., the company is launching a less-expensive chain, dubbed 365 by Whole Foods Market, next year in Los Angeles.

Read more from Bloomberg Business.