Fred Meyer stores also to close in Seattle, Redmond

It isn’t just in Kent and Everett where Ohio-based Kroger will close Fred Meyer stores in Western Washington.

Stores also will close in October in Seattle and Redmond, according to a Tuesday, Aug. 19 press release from the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 3000, the Seattle-based union that represents grocery workers.

Kroger announced Aug. 18 closures of the Kent East Hill Fred Meyer and an Everett Fred Meyer in October. The latest planned closures at the Lake City Way store in Seattle and the Redmond store along NE 76th Street. The closure of four stores will impact 703 employees.

In July, the company announced that a Tacoma Fred Meyer and Mill Creek QFC will close in September.

“These closures apparently align with Kroger’s plan to shutter stores in low-sales areas and open stores in potentially high-sales areas, with new Kroger stores scheduled to open in 2026,” according to the union.

The additional closures left union leaders frustrated and upset.

“In this era of mass consolidation, many of the workers we represent have come to expect this kind of callous, out-of-touch corporate management style from Kroger, but staggering store closure announcements that impact hundreds of workers and thousands of our neighbors over the course of two days is really something else,” said Faye Guenther, UFCW 3000 president.

“Kroger’s closures put profit over people, plain and simple. This corporate strategy might please Wall Street investors, but we know it’ll create food deserts in our neighborhoods and disrupt the lives of hundreds of workers already displaced by a housing affordability crisis now ten years in the making. Without a doubt, these issues will lead our agenda when we return to the (contract bargaining) table with Kroger and Albertsons in 2027.”

Kroger officials said the closures are “due to a steady rise in theft and a challenging regulatory environment that adds significant costs,” according to a company spokesperson.

In response to statements from Kroger attributing closures to crime, the union released a statement from Bryan Gilderoy, a produce clerk who has worked at the Fred Meyer in Kent for 15 years.

“From what I can tell in the store, crime has calmed down since COVID,” Gilderoy said. “Kroger added security after we demanded it, and things have gotten way better. As a matter of fact, a regular customer came in just yesterday and told me she comes to this store because she feels safest here.”

Union leaders plan to sit down with the company to bargain over these changes in the coming days.

“Our union contracts stipulate that Kroger must offer workers placement in equivalent positions at nearby stores, in accordance with their union seniority,” according to the union.

Governor issues statement

Gov. Bob Ferguson issued the following statement about the closures:

“My office is watching this closely,” Ferguson said. “The closure of six grocery stores in the Puget Sound region creates a lot of uncertainty for the workers and communities who depend on these stores to feed their families. In the coming months, we will be talking to workers and communities about their needs and build on the work we’ve been doing to make housing and food more affordable in Washington.”