WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Hy-Vee has cut 121 corporate positions, according to a company spokesperson. 102 of those employees were offered a new position within Hy-Vee while 19 were laid off.
There are a total of 1,534 corporate positions, the company said, meaning roughly 8% of corporate staff were impacted.
In Iowa, the Iowa Layoff Notification Law says a company with 25 or more employees must give the state a 30-day notice if it plans to lay off 25 or more employees. Since Hy-Vee technically only laid off 19 people, it was not required to notify the state.
A spokesperson for the company released a statement to Local 5 News saying Hy-Vee is a strong and vibrant company, adding:
"Like every company, our employee needs ebb and flow to match our business. In the midst of COVID-19, we had to significantly increase our projects across our business. With those projects launched, we have to make sure we remain focused on our stores and providing the best value and quality to our customers. We currently have approximately 93,000 employees. That number fluctuates every day by way of hiring and terminations. We are still hiring at the corporate office and retail locations, and are still expanding our footprint in the metro and surrounding areas with several new locations getting ready to open this spring."
When Local 5 News asked if the 102 job offers were all within the corporate office, a spokesperson said "it varied". We also wanted to clarify out of the 102 employees, if any had to have pay cuts and were told: "It varied. In some cases, people took roles with pay increases." The spokesperson said they could not confirm the number of employees out of the 102 who took the offer since that number continues to grow.
Hy-Vee has not clarified if the jobs were located solely at the Helpful Smiles Technology building in Grimes, the corporate headquarters in West Des Moines, or a combination of the two.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available. Download the We Are Iowa app or subscribe to Local 5's "5 Things to Know" email newsletter for the latest.