Less than a month after Landover, Maryland-based Giant Food announced plans to close three home-delivery fulfillment centers, it has updated what its home-delivery model is going forward.
Delivered groceries will now largely come from neighborhood stores.
One of the three fulfillment centers Giant said would close, in Manassas, Virginia, will now serve as the consolidated location for its Giant Delivers business. The 80,000-square-foot Manassas location opened in May.
Other distribution centers Giant will permanently close are in Hanover, Maryland, and Milford, Delaware.
The three fulfillment centers employed roughly 400 people. Giant said 150 jobs will be preserved by maintaining the Manassas facility.
Giant said it has launched a localized picked-from-store model using Giant employees, and will continue to partner with third-party delivery providers. The Manassas fulfillment center will continue serving a delivery role as well.
“We are pleased to announce updates to our home delivery service to meet the changing needs of our customers for faster delivery more delivery time slots and a broader assortment,” Giant said in a statement.
Giant continues to offer orders placed online and picked up by customers in-store.
Last month, Giant informed affected employees that the fulfillment centers would be closed on or after Oct. 21. Giant said at the time it was experiencing rising costs to operate and its central fulfillment model no longer allowed it to efficiently meet customers’ needs.
