A warehouse-style Foods Co. grocery on Gerber Road in South Sacramento is set to close for good, and county documents indicate 58 workers will lose their jobs when the doors lock for the last time. The planned shutdown, flagged on this week’s Sacramento County Board of Supervisors agenda, will take out a neighborhood discount market that many nearby residents count on for low-price pantry staples.
Coverage by the Sacramento Business Journal notes that the Gerber Road closure appears in county paperwork as a permanent shutdown, with a corresponding permanent layoff of 58 employees at the site.
The Gerber Road store operates as a warehouse-format Foods Co. outlet, and Foods Co. confirms the location and regular hours in its public listings. That page, however, does not mention staffing details or the impending closure.
What state law requires
California law requires many employers to provide advance notice before mass layoffs or plant closures. The California Employment Development Department maintains Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) guidance that outlines a 60 day notice framework. The agency also points to a separate statute that specifically requires grocery and pharmacy closures to be reported to the state and describes rapid response services that may be available to affected workers.
Regional ripple effects
The Foods Co. shutdown lands on top of other recent food sector upheaval in the Sacramento region. Last year, KCRA reported that US Foods planned to close a West Sacramento distribution center, affecting roughly 118 workers. That move had already stirred concern among local officials and labor advocates about how vulnerable distribution hubs and discount grocers can be, especially in lower income neighborhoods…