Stop & Shop to close New Hyde Park Peapod operation, affecting 162 workers

Stop & Shop will close a facility in New Hyde Park used for its online grocery delivery service Peapod at the end of September and lay off 162 workers, according to a notice filed with the state.

A spokeswoman for Stop & Shop said the company will attempt to move a majority of the affected jobs to other Stop & Shop locations. The 162 jobs included delivery drivers and clerks.

"Stop & Shop has been discussing the closures with the unions representing wareroom associates in an effort to minimize the impact on jobs," the company said in a statement Monday.

The Peapod facility in New Hyde Park is on the site of a Stop & Shop grocery store, which will remain in business. Peapod, headquartered in Illinois, is owned by Dutch company Ahold. Peapod delivers groceries from Ahold-owned stores, including Stop & Shop.

The Peapod operation, where employees packed online orders for delivery, is closing because the company is consolidating some of its business to a fulfillment center in Jersey City. Six other Peapod facilities -- including one other New York location, in Mount Vernon -- will also be shuttered as part of the process, the spokeswoman said. Peapod operations in Medford, South Setauket, Riverhead and Farmingdale will remain open to service Long Island.

Local 342 and Local 464A of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union will be affected by the layoffs.

John Niccollai, the president of the Local 464A, said he has been in touch with Stop & Shop on relocating employees to jobs in other locations.

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In New York, companies are required to file the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, notice with the labor department 90 days before a major layoff.