Lidl US cuts corporate jobs across 3 business units

Dive Brief:

German discount grocer Lidl has undergone a fresh set of layoffs stateside, a Lidl US spokesperson said in a Thursday email.
The cuts impacted corporate roles across three units at Lidl US. People impacted by the layoffs held roles ranging from administrative assistant to senior IT specialist, according to LinkedIn posts.
The layoffs come a little over a year after Lidl US let go of roughly 200 employees — primarily impacting employees at its U.S. headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Dive Insight:

The layoffs are the latest move by Lidl to rightsize its operations in the U.S. as it struggles to gain ground while rival Aldi hits the accelerator.

“Lidl US made the difficult decision to eliminate corporate roles across three functions within the business. While this is never an easy decision, we believe it is the right one for the business,” the spokesperson wrote.

The Lidl US spokesperson declined to say how many workers were impacted. LinkedIn posts from several laid-off employees noted that the layoffs are part of a corporate restructuring plan. A marketing manager who was laid off noted in a LinkedIn video posted Thursday that graphic designers, content producers, social media managers and information technology workers were included in the layoffs.

Laid-off Lidl US workers will receive severance packages and career transition support, the spokesperson said.

The job cuts last year came at a time when Lidl US was undertaking a corporate restructuring and aiming to boost its financial health. Lidl US also underwent a round of layoffs at its U.S. headquarters a few years prior, according to German business publication Lebensmittel Zeitung.

Lidl opened its first U.S. stores in 2017 but has struggled to hit its stride and grow stateside. Meanwhile, competitor Aldi, which entered the U.S. in the 1970s, continues to rapidly expand its store fleet, with plans to open an additional 800 stores by the end of 2028.

Earlier this month, Lidl US named four new executives: a new chief commercial officer, its first-ever chief customer officer and two vice presidents — one to oversee fresh operations and the other to oversee marketing.

The new appointments came just a few months after Lidl US named Joel Rampoldt as its new CEO. The appointment of Rampoldt, a former partner and managing director of consulting firm AlixPartners who did not have any prior experience at Lidl, marked a departure from the company’s pattern of appointing internal executives to lead country operations.