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National grocery retailer announced plans Tuesday to close three eCommerce fulfillment centers, including one in Groveland, in an effort to ‘drive profitable sales growth’.
The closing of the Groveland fulfillment center will impact the approximately 1,400 Kroger employees who work at the facility, according to the City of Groveland.
“This is an especially difficult time for employees to hear this news, and our hearts go out to those affected,” the city wrote in a statement. “There are approximately 1,400 Kroger employees at the facility, many of whom are Groveland residents.”
The facility is expected to close sometime in January 2026, according to the City of Groveland.
The Groveland facility, similar to other Kroger fulfillment centers across the country, uses more than 1,000 product retrieval robots that allow customers to order on , or the Kroger app, and have groceries delivered in temperature-controlled vans.
In their announcement, Kroger said it expects the closures to have ‘a positive effect’ to their projected eCommerce operating profit of approximately $400 million in 2026.
“eCommerce remains a core part of serving customers who want better value, wide selection and flexible ways to shop,” Kroger Chairman and CEO Ron Sargent said in a statement Tuesday. “…We are taking decisive action to make shopping easier, offer faster delivery times, provide more options to our customers, and we expect to deliver profitable sales growth as a result.”
The City of Groveland said it will not be participating in interviews as they are “still gathering additional information” on the announced fulfillment center closures.
“We understand Kroger announced this morning it would close three automated facilities, including its Groveland location, as part of an effort to improve its eCommerce profitability,” the city wrote in a statement.
With the closures likely impacting thousands of county residents, Lake County said it will support affected employees by ensuring they “have access to the resources and opportunities they need in the months ahead”.
“Lake County is actively coordinating with partners such as CareerSource Central Florida and Lake Economic Area Development (LEAD) to establish a strong network of workforce assistance,” county officials said in a prepared statement. “The County is prepared to connect affected employees with our partners who provide job-placement services, training programs, and career guidance. We remain committed to helping our residents through this transition and will continue to share updates as more information becomes available.”
Groveland and Lake County officials were able to lure Kroger to the Christopher C. Ford Commerce Center in Lake County by offering financial incentives potentially worth more than $3 million in an agreement approved back in 2019.
At the time of their initial foray into Lake County, Kroger was in an incentive package offered by Groveland.
The city offered to pay $431,000 in impact fees, $213,750 in building permit fees — for plan reviews and inspections during construction — and up to $500,000 in job growth incentives.
Lake County commissioners also approved a property tax rebate with an anticipated value of about $2 million over 10 years if all stated requirements were met. The rebate came from an estimated $4 million in property tax revenue the center was projected to generate across 10 years, cut short by Tuesday’s announcement.
Kroger agreed to invest $51 million in the fulfillment center and British online grocery company Ocado was set to pitch in $70 million for “robotics and other technology”, bringing the total cost of the facility to $121 million.
Kroger broke ground on the fulfillment center in July 2019 and shipped its in 2021. When the center opened, it was projected to operate at full capacity with 400 employees, but the staffing level had more than tripled since then.
Kroger operated stores in the state . It also owned part of Lucky’s Market, but divested from that chain before Lucky’s back in 2020.
Kroger is also closing eCommerce facilities in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin and Frederick, Maryland.
Earlier this year, Kroger and Ocada announced — one in Charlotte, North Carolina and one in Phoenix, Arizona — in fiscal year 2026.