Dozens of Portland Albertsons workers will be laid off due to lease issues

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Dozens of workers will be impacted by the looming closure of a Portland Albertsons.

According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification issued on Wednesday, 87 employees will be laid off from the location on 5415 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy.

Previous reports announced that the store is set to shutter on Tuesday, July 1. Last week, Albertsons spokesperson Jill McGinnis told KOIN 6 that the closure is due to the grocer’s inability to secure a lease agreement with the current landlord.

The WARN Notice is now revealing that the affected workers were informed of the closure on April 29.

“While opportunities for continued employment at other company locations are available, a small number of associates may experience separation from the company,” Albertsons Human Resources Director for the Portland Division, Debbie Willer, wrote.

Willer added that employees are permitted to “continue working to finalize operations for a period beyond” when the store is slated to shut down.

Albertsons is also planning to permanently close its Safeway store on 1205 Campbell St. The eastern Oregon location, the only one in Baker City, will shutter on May 25 — laying off 82 associates.

While the WARN Notices do not indicate the closures are related to Albertsons’ failed merger plans, they follow the supermarket giant’s lawsuit that accused Kroger of failing to secure the $24.6 billion acquisition.

After the company shutters its Southwest Portland store, just two locations on 451 NE 181st St. and 5850 NE Prescott will remain.