LONG BEACH (CBSLA) – Kroger, the parent company of Ralphs and Food 4 Less, announced on Monday that it will close two of its Long Beach stores after passing a law that increased the wages of grocery store employees by $ 4 an hour.
Kroger reported that on April 17 it closed its Ralphs store at 3380 N. Los Coyotes Diagonal and its Food 4 Less store at 2185 E. South St.
“As a result of the City of Long Beach’s decision to pass a regulation requiring additional pay for grocery workers, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close the long-term retail locations in Long Beach,” the company said in a press release . “This misguided action by Long Beach City Council goes beyond the traditional negotiation process and applies to some, but not all, grocery workers in the city.”
Last month, Long Beach City Council passed a regulation requiring grocers with at least 300 employees across the country to give their employees an additional $ 4 per hour in risk compensation for at least the next 120 days due to the risks of working during the coronavirus pandemic.
Los Angeles city councilors are currently considering a similar motion that would give their supermarket employees an extra $ 5 an hour in risky money.
This past March and April, as the pandemic unfolded, several major supermarkets and retailers – including Kroger, Walmart, Target and Albertsons – offered their employees one-time bonuses or temporary pay increases of $ 2 an hour.
Kroger claimed Monday that it has spent $ 1.3 billion since the start of the pandemic to “reward employees as well as implement dozens of security measures.”