SUPERVALU Subsidiary to Lay Off 700

New England grocery chain Shaw's, a subsidiary of SUPERVALU (NYS: SVU) , will trim its work force by 700 positions, the company announced today.That's about 4% of employees at the 169 Shaw's and Star Market stores.

Mike Stigers, president of Shaw's, said in a company press release that the layoffs come about as the company better aligns its staffing with when people shop.The staff reductions will happen at Shaw's and Star Market stores and will be finalized by Saturday.

Shaw's has been around since 1860, and has about 17,000 employees. Its parent company, SUPERVALU, operates about 2,500 grocery store locations across the U.S. under names including Save-A-Lot, Albertsons, Shoppers, and Acme. SUPERVALU's stock has struggled mightily in recent years, and has fallen 60% this year. The stock was making news last week over buyout chatter.

The article SUPERVALU Subsidiary to Lay Off 700 originally appeared on Fool.com.

John Divine has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. You can follow him on Twitter @divinebizkid and on Motley Fool CAPS @TMFDivine.The Motley Fool owns shares of Supervalu. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Supervalu. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.