The Lidl layoffs, explained

Amid waves of layoffs at companies like Amazon and UPS, German discount supermarket chain Lidl announced job cuts in its U.S. operations in late March 2024. Grocery Dive says layoffs happened in three business divisions, but Lidl declined to specify how many workers were affected.

There were 174 Lidl locations in the North and Southeastern U.S. when the 2024 layoffs were announced. Lidl stores opened in Germany in 1973, and today, Lidl is among Germany’s biggest discount grocery chains. The company expanded across Europe in the 1990s and opened its first U.S. location in 2017.

News of the 2024 Lidl job cuts came just a year after Lidl laid off around 200 U.S. employees in administrative positions, affecting about 1 in 5 Lidl employees. The company called the move a corporate restructuring. At that time, a Lidl spokesperson said,

“[Lidl remains] committed to the long-term success of Lidl US and look forward to continuing our expansion along the East Coast, we are continually evaluating our operations to ensure we are supporting our stores effectively.”

via Grocery Dive

The 2024 Lidl cuts were also in administration

Grocery Dive says the 2024 Lidl cuts were also in administration, content development, graphic design, social media managers, and IT workers, based on LinkedIn profiles. The company again said the downsizing was part of an overall corporate restructuring plan. However, the same month the layoffs were announced, the company named four new executives in its U.S. operations.

News of Lidl layoffs came as the chain’s chief German competitor, Aldi, announced it would open an additional 800 stores in America by 2028, investing $9 billion in new Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast locations.

Announcing the 2024 round of job cuts, a Lidl spokesperson said,

“Lidl US made the difficult decision to eliminate corporate roles across three functions within the business. While this is never an easy decision, we believe it is the right one for the business.”