Kroger shuts down remote online grocery operations in Austin, San Antonio and Florida

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By Maria Halkias

3:28 PM on Mar 27, 2024 CDT

Kroger's online grocery delivery operations in Austin, San Antonio and Miami are shutting down.

The supermarket chain's experiment to fill online orders from hub operations created in cities where it doesn't operate stores started in 2022 along with its new robotics-driven, e-commerce fulfillment centers.

"Despite our best efforts, including the support from new customers, learnings from other locations and the incredible work of our associates, the Miami, Florida, San Antonio and Austin, Texas facilities did not meet the benchmarks we set for success," said Kroger spokeswoman April Martin.

The new 350,000-square-foot facility that opened in southern Dallas in 2022 was feeding Austin, San Antonio and Oklahoma City. The robotics-driven facility can fill a grocery order in 6 minutes. Refrigerated trucks delivered the groceries to the hub and spoke operations.

Oklahoma City is not shutting down, Martin said. "Additionally, this decision does not impact the company's other automated fulfillment centers or cross-docking spoke locations."

Kroger said 52 people working in its Austin operation will lose their jobs on May 25 when that operation permanently shuts down, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification letter filed with the Texas Workforce Commission.

Kroger built an e-commerce fulfillment center in Groveland, Fla. in 2021 and it served the spoke facility for the Miami area that opened in early 2023.

"We want to express our deepest gratitude to our associates for their hard work and are committed to providing support and resources to them during this transition," Martin said.