Winn-Dixie to shut, sell 326 stores, cut 28% of jobs (22,000 JOBS!)

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38524.5971193171-837069807&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., (WNDXQ) the Jacksonville, Fla., supermarket operator, said it would close or sell 326 stores and cut 28%, or 22,000, of its jobs. The company now operates 913 stores in the U.S. and the Bahamas; the revamp will reduce that number to 587 focused in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi, and the Bahamas. Winn-Dixie expects the move to reduce annual revenue to $7.5 billion from the current $10 billion. The company plans to exit three of its 10 distribution centers, and it has put its manufacturing plants up for sale. The three distribution centers to be shut are in Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; and Greenville, S.C. Winn-Dixie also said it plans to reduce headquarters and support personnel.

...very short newsblurb...

That should smack down any chance of recovery in the southern states :wow:

But Winn Dixie is one of the crappiest grocery stores you will ever shop at.

Publix has been aggressively opening new stores right next door to Winn Dixie stores.

I used to shop at Winn Dixie all the time because they stayed open 24 hours and it was convenient to shop late at night after I got off work.

But once Publix opened nearby WD stopped opening 24 hours.

a Kroger, a Bi-Lo and a Food Lion. We jsut lost a locally based store to a future Lowes super center.

The Winn Dixie closed right away after WM opened. I don't know how Publix stays open. It's a very nice store, but every time I've every been in there I was the only customer.

Chances are quite good that a lot of these jobs were relatively good paying union jobs. The anti-worker, anti-union, anti-American Walmart 'outcompeted' them on price.

It's a race to the bottom, and anyone who shops at Walmart is an accomplice.

... it sure looks like they're trying to save fuel costs by shrinking their operating area, along with restricting their inventory to what sells in the deep South.

This is going to happen more and more in other areas in the future as fuel costs go up.

is not doing this to Winn Dixie. Winn Dixie just fell behind.

Winn Dixie is about as anti-union as Wally World.

They went under because they have small, dirty, stores with poor selections.

My years living in North Carolina taught me all I needed to know about Winn Dixie. This news is no surprise at all.

I used to have a Winn Dixie, a Publix and an Albertson's in my neighborhood. The only time I went to Winn Dixie was when the other two were closed. Which was twice in four years. Truly awful meat and produce, too.

There are three super WM's within a 15 mile area where I live. The Kroger stores are running big sales like mad. 10 items for $10 on the stock up's like detergent, frozen pizza's, coffee, milk, etc. A lot of them no longer stay open 24 hrs. It is getting bad out there.

They don't even have in-store butchers because that would mean a union. All the meat is pre-packaged.

The grocery store where my sister-in-law lives closed because of the new Super WalMart with gorcery store.

Winn-Dixie is known for its meat selection.

came into Atlanta about ten years ago and wiped out Kroger. It would ba a grat case study at a business scholl on how to take over a market. They have an excellent bakery department and their selection is geared around NY brands. Boarshead for deli meats Hebrew National, Natahan, nads Sabretts for hot dogs and very good service. They run a top notch supermarket and in my opinion could hold off Wal Mart

There are still plenty of Krogers in metro Atlanta, but this area is big enough to support both Publix & Kroger.

But I do agree that Winn-Dixie was run out of this area by Publix & Kroger. I haven't seen one here in a very long time.

if you looked at marketshare in '92 and marketshare today Kroger has lost a great deal of business.

I live in the upstate South Carolina area - and anytime after 10pm, if you need groceries, or anything, guess what ...it's Wal-Mart, and that's all. They're all basically the same here: if you need groceries, you have Winn-Dixie, Bi-Lo, Publix, and Wal-Mart. Guess which one stays open 24 hours? Wal-Mart. And, when you go into Wal-Mart after 10pm, there's always a line at several checkouts - you can't tell me that doesn't have something to do with this closure. You just can't tell me that. And, there are *4* Wal-Marts in this area. Chances are, one is very close to the consumer.

I am *NO FAN* of Wal-Mart. This is the WallyWorld monster rearing its ugly head, though. Make no mistake of that.

Looks like we're from the same neck of the woods.

:hi:

There's a Winn Dixie and a Publix in my town and have been here long before Super WalMart opened up last year. I used to shop at WD almost exclusively because of their low prices and the quality of their meats.

I never shop there now because their prices have gone up, their store is dingy and their produce prices are ridiculously high.

Winn Dixie is failing because of bad management. Publix is doing very well, despite WalMart being around.

I wonder if the 22,000 folks who are about to lose their jobs will draw any connection to what happened to Winn-Dixie and the way the 2004 election played out? Or will the totality of fault accrue to some obscure Democrat?

Another opportunity for Howard Dean to head south and talk to folks in Georgia, North and South Carolina and Alabama. I'm thinking that the audiences will be more and more receptive to the Democratic message.

Good point. We need to take advantage of any opening we can get.

"Quit taking advantage of our victims!"

The employees at Winn-Dixie have known that the company has been tanking for years because of a result of mismanagement. Twice in the past 7 years, employees have been bumped down from full time to part time so that the company could avoid the stigma of having to lay people off. Now that they're entering bankruptcy, they have no choice.

This has nothing at all to do with politics. It has to do with company executives making stupid decisions.

I hope that it doesn't close. We lost the other one across town a few years ago. The closing of the distribution centers will really hurt those cities.
:(

About once a month they run a special on dungeness crab legs. $4.99 a pound. I always stock up.

But, Mall-Wart is planning on opening TWO supercenters within walking distance of this place.

My grandmother would take us there to do camping shopping, big blocks of ice, and Biltmore ice cream placed in silver foil bags to keep it colder.

Wow do I miss Biltmore ice cream! I'm from just west of Asheville where the Biltmore Estate is and that ice cream was yummy. Winn Dixie was our first "Supermarket" in town along with the A&P.

According to the Gospel of Bush, that is.

Gee, I wonder what they'll major in?

Is what I'm guessing.

At the Parris Island and Fort Benning Institutes.

this is the trend of all future hiring... it's called... firing.

they like to call it "laying off" but nobody gets laid.

DOES IT RELLY MATTER?

I..... don't.... can't.....

aaaaaaahhhhh!

a lot lately too.

You'd find the same guys in western Mass. and Vermont..and NH and Maine and ....so on so forth. Check your own back yard I have travelling up there and it's just as scary.

I wouldn't have my dog in but presumably one or both live there.

I really thought liberal elitism was a figment of Rush Limbaugh's twisted imagination until I came here.

That's what the shirt signifies.

Look at them jobs go!

Away.

Yeah, that Bush economic miracle just keeps on comin'. </sarcasm>

All that will be left is Sav-A-Center and Walmart

has a much better selection, some organic foods, their deli and bakery are a million times better than Winn Dixie. The Winn Dixies near me always smell weird and have a tribble selection, if you want truly fresh Walmart is terrible too, Yuk! Besides I refuse to shop at Walmart. Disgusting! Who knows where they get their stuff from.

You should all try to shop at your local farmers market etc., or give Costco a try, at least they're a blue company!

I feel so sorry for anyone losing their jobs

Not even the movie could save them, I guess. Anyway, weren't they high on the contribution list to the freepers? I know Publix was. And you can walk to Publix from my house, so it's close, and every time that I enter that store, that is the only thing I can think of-this place made * keep his job. Winn-Dixie you have to drive a few miles to, and there really isn't anything all that great about it. An ex-friend who moved to Florida (Orlando area) from New York City couldn't stand Winn-Dixie, that's all she said was it smelled, was dirty, etc., and she was "one of us" even though her new beau was an asshole. She swore by Publix because of all the New York stuff. Now you can find Tastykake there, which is something from home that I miss. The next closest to my house is Food Lion, which isn't great either, but it's better than Winn-Dixie, which isn't saying a whole lot. My favorite was Albertson's (Holly Hill, Florida), like Acme in South Jersey/Philadelphia area, same company, but it closed up, and the one in Port Orange is just too far to drive to buy groceries-especially with the high gas prices here.

totally anti Shrub! I think it depends on where the stores are. We live in Ga, so there's a mix of red & blue employees here. Don't boycot all Publix just because the mgmt contributes to Pubs. The employees can't control that, but they do try very hard to keep their customers happy, and that's all done by the employees.

If they don't close the store near me I hope they clean it up.

we can't blame all of WD's problems on Wal-Mart. When Grace Nelson's family (yes the senator's wife), still owned them, they were clean and sold good food at reasonable prices. Now the stores are dirty inside and out and the variety is pathetic. We have a WD near us and unless I am abolutely desperate will I shop there. The stores are dirty!

I buy bread and milk at Swindle-Dixie.

(25,000 at GM, 22,000 at Winn-Dixie, Just a "Soft Patch" eh George?)

Winn-Dixie to cut 22,000 jobs

Tue Jun 21, 2005 04:26 PM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Bankrupt grocery store operator Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. (WNDXQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday said it would sell or close 326 stores and cut 22,000 jobs, about 28 percent of its work force, as it tries to improve profits.

The company would have about $7.5 billion in annual revenue after disposing of the stores, down 25 percent from its current $10 billion, the company said.

Winn-Dixie also plans to cut personnel at headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida, and sell its dairy and pizza plants in Montgomery, Alabama, and its beverage plant in Fitzgerald, Georgia.

The company, founded in 1925, filed for bankruptcy in February after it dominated markets across the U.S. South and in the Bahamas. It lost market share to rivals such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Publix Super Markets.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

this is GOP style great growth

They hate competition so much, that they buy up all their copmpetitors, even though they cannot afford it. They hold on to all those gobbled up acquisitions long enough, so that no NEW competition arrives..then after a time, they just jettison them, and their employees..

The real losers are the customers who now have nowhere to shop.... Enter walmart:(


This chronicles their buy-outs over the years..
http://www.winn-dixie.com/company/about_wd/history.asp

Around here, It's Kroger's, Schnucks, and Walmart, and a few smaller ones.

Kroger and Schnucks have been building new stores left and right (and usually right across the street from each other).

:mad:

http://money.cnn.com/2005/06/21/news/fortune500/winn_dixie/index.htm?cnn=yes

Winn-Dixie cutting 22,000 jobs
Supermarket retailer closing more than 300 stores as it seeks to bolster results.
June 21, 2005: 6:39 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Bankrupt grocery chain Winn-Dixie said Tuesday it would close about a third of its 913 stores and cut 22,000 jobs as part of a plan to restructure and emerge from bankruptcy.

The job cuts represent about 28 percent of Winn-Dixie's total work force. The cuts will affect stores as well as corporate offices, the company said in a statement.

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based supermarket chain said it's closing or selling 326 stores to focus on its most profitable markets.

"Creating a smaller, but more profitable store base will best position Winn-Dixie for long-term financial health and a successful future," Winn-Dixie CEO Peter Lynch said in a statement.

The company would have about $7.5 billion in annual revenue after disposing of the stores, down 25 percent from its current $10 billion, it said.

Winn-Dixie also plans to sell its dairy and pizza plants in Montgomery, Ala., and a beverage plant in Fitzgerald, Ga.


....

After the cuts, Winn-Dixie will still have stores in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi and the Bahamas. It will no longer have outlets in Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February. In Chapter 11, a company is protected from creditors while it tries to reorganize and work out a plan to pay its debts.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/06/21/news/fortune500/winn_dixie/index.htm?cnn=yes

... sources say it was due to the film being to fluffy.

Loser Dixie - where the stores are dirty and they keep fruit and veggies out until the mold overtakes them.

there was a Kroger, a Food Lion, a Bi-Lo, a Winn-Dixie, a Super WM, and a Bell's (small regional chain). When I moved away, Publix was just starting to work on moving in - probably replacing the Winn-Dixie.

My neighbor workad at the Winn-Dixie. She liked it very much, and said she was well treated.

I can understand why Winn-Dixie is going away: The stores suck. We have several in Fayetteville, and they're all dirtier than my store--and I sell DIRT!

... and during that time, I didn't work for a single manager, supervisor, or division president who had so much as a college degree. Educated employees were looked down upon because they were able to haul ass as soon as they had a better opportunity.

When I arrived at the store I worked at in 1995, it was dirty, infested, and had 26 unicarts and 35 pallets of backstock in the warehouse. Within 6 months, they begged me to manage their grocery department. I took control of the order gun, and whereas before they were posting $50K losses in inventory per quarter, we were actually making $10-15K a quarter on inventory (if a pallet fell over in the main warehouse, they shipped crates full of merchandise and allowed us to sort through for good stuff).

Winn-Dixie was affected by WalMart to a degree, but they also bought chains like Delchamps, which went out of business after they bought another mismanaged chain in Jitney Jungle. The company has a long history of idiocy at the top levels.

We have a Winn-Dixie and a Publix within a mile of each other, equidistant to my home. I've shopped at both, but now only shop at Publix. Quality and price drove my choice. Seems I'm not alone.