Hundreds Laid Off With South Jersey Warehouse Set To Close

LOGAN TOWNSHIP, NJ — A major grocery distributor plans to close its warehouse in South Jersey, taking hundreds of jobs with it. United Natural Foods announced layoffs for 260 employees in Logan Township, which will take effect in October.

United Natural Foods, Inc. is the nation's largest publicly traded wholesale distributor of health and specialty foods and has served as Whole Foods Market's main supplier since 2018. The cutbacks come on the heels of a sharp drop in profitability during its fiscal third quarter, which ended April 29.

Last month, United Natural Foods announced it would consolidate operations and cut 150 jobs — primarily in management and supervisory positions. But documents from the New Jersey Department of Labor show the company plans to cut 260 positions in the Logan facility.

United Natural Foods has dozens of distribution plants throughout the country, including the Bridgeport Distribution Center in Logan Township. The company will move Bridgeport's operations to its facility in the Allentown, Pennsylvania, area. The South Jersey workers weren't offered jobs at the Pennsylvania plant, according to the layoff notice.

"These changes are a step in our transformation plan," CEO Sandy Douglas said June 13 in a news release on the company's restructuring. "The regional realignment will decrease layers of administrative management, increase leaders’ span of geographic responsibility, better align us to serve customers with less complexity, and support faster decision making."

In the third quarter, the corporation's net income declined year-over-year by 89.6 percent — from $67 million to $7 million.

The layoffs will take effect Oct. 3, according to the notice to the state labor department.