Winn-Dixie to close more than 300 supermarkets, eliminate 22,000 jobs

Tuesday, June 21st 2005, 2:05 pm

By: News On 6

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) _ Bankrupt supermarket giant Winn-Dixie announced Tuesday that it will close 326 of its 913 stores and eliminate 22,000 jobs under its proposed Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

The company, which filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 21, said it will cease operations in Tennessee, Virginia and North and South Carolina. It will retain stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and the Bahamas.

The job cuts amount to 28 percent of its workforce of 78,000.

``We do not take these decisions lightly and would not be proceeding if these steps were not essential to restore Winn-Dixie's financial health,'' president and chief executive Peter Lynch said in a statement.

The Jacksonville-based supermarket chain is No. 182 on the Fortune 500 list of the nation's biggest corporations. It listed assets of $2.2 billion and liabilities of $1.9 billion in its bankruptcy filing.