FreshCo to replace closed Safeway locations in parts of B.C.

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The company that owns Safeway is going to start opening some of its shuttered locations under a new name.

FreshCo will begin opening stores across the province this spring, offering shoppers a discount grocery experience.

This is all part of a restructuring effort by Empire Co., which owns Sobeys and its subsidiaries, FreshCo and Safeway. The company has been struggling since it bought Safeway back in 2013.

Five FreshCo stores will be opening in the spring. Two will be in Richmond, two in Surrey, and one in Mission.

All will fill former Safeway locations, which closed many of its Lower Mainland stores in the summer of 2018.

Five additional Safeway locations will be closing in May for renovations, which could take up to five months. All will reopen as FreshCos at a later date.

Empire says it’s taking steps to ensure continuity in its pharmacy departments, and to meet the collective agreements of the employee unions.

But the workers who are currently employed at the Safeway stores set to be closed could lose their jobs with the change, the union says.

Kate Milberry of UFCW local 1518 says that’s a concern and a disappointment.

“It’s disappointing that these good, family-supporting, union, living-wage jobs at Safeway won’t be protected,” Milberry says.

She does note, however, that the workers do have some options, though they may not be rehired for jobs at FreshCo. They can move to another Safeway branch, or take severance pay.

“Our members also are eligible for a severance of up to $65,000, depending on their seniority,” she says. “We know that some of our members will take that option.”

She says even with those options, it’s a sad day for Safeway workers.

“We believe that all workers deserve a living wage,” she says. “We believe that all workers deserve job security and we know that our members are experts in the grocery industry.”

These will be the first FreshCo locations anywhere in British Columbia.