GROVELAND, Fla. – The mayor of Groveland took to social media Thursday to address the closure of Kroger’s fulfillment center, saying he’s “heartsick” for the 1,400 employees who work at the facility.
Kroger announced earlier this week it would close three of its delivery fulfillment facilities, including one in Groveland. Officials from the company did not say when the facility will close, but said delivery service would end Feb. 1, 2026.
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The city of Groveland released a statement about the center’s closure, saying in part that there are approximately 1,400 Kroger employees at the facility, “many of whom are Groveland residents.”
“Each and every one of us knows someone who works in that facility, so for us, it’s personal. Please know we’re actively working with local, county and regional organizations to ensure these folks have every available resource,” Mayor Keith Keogh wrote on social media.
In July 2019, Kroger announced the groundbreaking for the company’s $55 million, 375,000-square-foot customer fulfillment center.
Kroger partnered with British grocery technology company Ocado Group in 2018 to build warehouses where robots would pick and pack grocery delivery orders. Initially, the companies planned 20 locations, but only eight have been built so far.
In the post, Keogh broke down how Kroger fit into the city’s incentive package when it was signed in 2019. Read the full statement below:
“There’s no way around it: I’m heartsick for Kroger’s employees and their families. Each and every one of us knows someone who works in that facility, so for us, it’s personal. Please know we’re actively working with local, county and regional organizations to ensure these folks have every available resource.
I do want to address the incentive package the city signed in 2019. Given how this project is ending, your questions are fair.
Let me try and break it down. We waived impact and building-permit fees for Kroger and its technology partner, Ocado. We also offered an incentive for every job created at the facility, along with a sliding-scale tax rebate if the companies met employment and wage commitments, which they did in all three full years of operation.
I liked the analogy Sean Parks used on Facebook yesterday. He said “Unlike, say, a college football coach who gets paid regardless of wins or losses, Kroger/Ocado had to meet strict yearly job creation and wage standards ... And they did. For three consecutive years, they hired and retained hundreds of full-time employees at or above 115% of Lake County’s average wage.”
And something else I’ve discovered: we offered pretty steep tax rebates to both companies but still collected a total of $663,181 in property taxes over the past three years.
Let me be clear: we plan to fight for every dollar we invested in this project and are already working with our attorneys to explore the best path ahead. We’ll share more when we have a better understanding of our position. For now, let’s keep supporting our neighbors, families and friends, especially as the holidays approach.
- Mayor Keith Keogh"
The Associated Press contributed to this report.