Kroger cuts 3,000 corporate roles under CEO Greg Foran in AI push

Kroger's plan to cut about 3,000 corporate roles over the next three years sits alongside a broader technology push the company outlined in September, when it described tools that forecast demand, personalize savings, and help customers plan meals and build shopping carts around their budgets and dietary needs. The company also said it is developing AI agents to help frontline teams prioritize daily tasks and notifications, while making AI training and tools available to more than 400,000 employees. Retail analyst Neil Saunders told Fortune that Kroger's corporate structure was already bloated and inefficient, so some of these cuts would have happened regardless of any technological innovation, adding that it will take time before it becomes clear whether the promised AI gains materialize.

The savings question is central because Kroger is competing with Walmart and Aldi for shoppers' grocery budgets. CEO Greg Foran, who took the top job in February and previously led Walmart's U.S. business from 2014 to 2019, faces the task of giving shoppers a reason to choose Kroger after the abrupt resignation of his predecessor. Saunders said the effect on prices could be bigger if Kroger concentrates the savings on the products and categories where value matters most to shoppers, which he expects it to do, though he noted that if spread across various products, the investment would take only cents off an average basket.

Kroger did not immediately respond to Fortune's request for comment. Walmart is also using technology to streamline store operations — its digital shelf labels let employees update prices without replacing paper tags by hand.