Kroger is Now Making Painful Closures of Its Clinics

July 18, 2024

Kroger is now making painful closures of its clinics in the state of Virginia without giving any indication as to why these shutters are occurring.

The grocery chain announced that a total of four clinics in Virginia will be closing Friday, but did not give any reasons for the closures.

There are a total of 225 Little Clinics in Kroger stores nationwide, however, these four are the only ones that are closing.

In a statement to the Richmond Times Dispatch, Kroger said it was a “difficult decision” to close the four locations.

A Kroger representative called it a business decision based on many factors and referred back to the initial statement.

Patients with questions about their medical records can call (877) 852-2677.

It is unclear whether or not files will be moved to a new location.

The U.S. Sun reports that they have reached out to Kroger for comment.

The shutdown comes right after the chain announced it was changing its BOGO policy.

Many shoppers claimed that now, to get the deal, two items are needed.

“Heads up: Kroger has changed their BOGO policy,” one shopper wrote in a Facebook post.

“Must buy two to get the discount.”

“Most other stores don’t require that. Hate that,” she added.

The frustrated customer continued to note that she would no longer be heading to her nearest Kroger because of the policy change.

Other frustrated customers backed up the user’s story.

“Just had this experience!” exclaimed someone else.

“Saw BOGO Mars ice cream bars. Tried to buy only one. It rang up as full price.”

“Asked a cashier who confirmed you must buy 2,” they remarked.

Kroger responded to the complaints, promising Jill and the other customers that their concerns would be passed to its Internal Teams “for review.”

The retailer also emphasized its continued efforts to save shoppers money through coupons and other perks.

“We offer our customers many ways to save, including digital coupons, cash back offers, our many sales/promotions, as well as fuel points to save at the pump,” Kroger noted.

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Also Read: Retirees Will Now Receive More Money For Social Security

Other Economy News Today

Applications for unemployment benefits now surge to new highs, a sign that the white-hot labor market is starting to cool off.

First-time applications for unemployment benefits rose last week to 231,000, the highest level since August, per CNN.

Thursday’s data also showed that the number of continuing claims, or applications from people who have filed for unemployment for at least one week, was 1.78 million.

That’s an increase of 17,000 from the prior week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The latest numbers come less than a week after the monthly jobs report showed the US economy added just 175,000 positions in April, less than economists expected and a steep drop-off from prior months.

US employers have now added an average of 245,500 jobs per month, versus 2023’s 251,000-per-month average.

Still, hiring remains strong. Although the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% last month, it’s the 27th consecutive month that the jobless rate has held under 4%, matching a streak last seen in the late 1960s.

Weekly jobless claims data tends to be volatile but, while one week’s worth of data “does not a trend make,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds.

“We can no longer be sure that calm seas lie ahead for the US economy if today’s weekly jobless claims are any indication.”

“Company layoffs are picking up, hinting at caution on the part of companies as they weigh the outlook for the second half of the year,” he wrote in a note Thursday.

The Federal Reserve has been battling inflation by raising its key lending rate in the hopes of slowing the economy.

While the labor market has so far resisted those efforts, remaining white hot for the past 18 months despite 11 rate hikes from the central bank, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week that demand has “cooled from its extremely high level of a couple of years ago.”

Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Economics said in a note Thursday: “We’d need to see at least a month of elevated readings to convince us that the trend really has turned.”

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Also Read: A Giant Company Now Announces Unexpected Layoffs in Virginia

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