FL Winn Dixie Warn Letter Confirms Conversion To An Aldi And The Lay Off Of Dozens Of FL Employees

Photo bySoutheastern Grocers, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

By now, many Floridians are aware that their local Winn Dixie could become an Aldi. This is due to Aldi's purchase of 400 Winn Dixie stores and Aldi's identifying Winn Dixie stores in Panama City, Panama City Beach, and Lakeland that will be converting to Aldi. And now, one of those stores has further confirmed the closure by mentioning the conversion in a Warn letter and laying off dozens of Winn Dixie employees.

About The Store In Question: The rumors about the closure of the Winn Dixie store at Imperial Christina Plaza in Lakeland closing began with a Facebook post by the publication LALToday, the Winn Dixie has placed signage on the door indicating that it will be closing.

Perhaps not surprisingly, patrons began to speculate in the comments section about an Aldi conversion. On a Facebook post by Lakeland Retro, a poster named Shannon wrote:

"One of the employees told us two weeks ago it was closing (on) July 27 in preparation for becoming an Aldi."

And the store DID close on July 28, 2024, according to a recent Warn letter.

The Warn Letter And Dozens Of Lay Offs: In a Warn letter dated July 29, 2024, Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of Winn Dixie, indicated that due to the closure of the store at 6902 South Florida Avenue due to it becoming converted to an Aldi, all 48 employees would be laid off. The employees did not have bumping rights, nor were they represented by a union.

Some of the job titles of affected employees were meat cutters, deli associates, customer service associates, bakery associates, liquor store associates, and cashiers.

The letter states that the store is expected to reopen as an Aldi in four to six months and the affected employees are eligible to apply at the new Aldi.

The author is not affiliated with Winn Dixie, Aldi, or any other grocers.