Instacart Laying Off 17 Workers At Bethesda's Giant Food

BETHESDA, MD — Grocery-delivery service Instacart is laying off 17 employees at the Bethesda Giant on Arlington Road. Their last day will be March 21, according to a Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN).

The job cuts are part of Instacart's plan to lay off more than 1,800 in-store shoppers across the country. The company said the layoffs are because some grocers wanted to use their own workers to fulfill orders through the Instacart app.

"We know this is an incredibly challenging time for many as we move through the COVID-19 crisis, and we're doing everything we can to support in-store shoppers through this transition," Instacart said in a statement. "This includes transferring impacted shoppers to other retailer locations where we have Instacart in-store shopper roles open, working closely with our retail partners to hire impacted shoppers for roles they're looking to fill, and providing shoppers with transition assistance as they explore new work opportunities."

Instacart also said it will be providing all impacted shoppers with separation packages based on their tenure.