Whole Foods Is Closing Its 3 Ready-to-Eat Meal Kitchens

Inside The New Downtown LA Whole Foods Market Inc. Store
A customer carries a shopping bag outside the new Whole Foods Market Inc. store in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Located beneath the recently opened Eighth & Grand residences, the 41,000-square-foot store features a juice bar, fresh poke, expanded vegan options in all departments, a coffee bar (with cold brew on tap), more than 1,000 hand-picked wines, home delivery via Instacart and bar-restaurant The Eight Bar. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photograph by Patrick T. Fallon—Bloomberg via Getty Images

Whole Foods Market said it would close three remaining regional kitchen facilities as part of an ongoing plan to streamline its operations.

The three kitchen facilities are in Everett, Massachusetts, Landover, Maryland and Atlanta, a company spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

The closures will affect about 500 jobs, but Whole Foods (WFM) said it expects to place most of the employees within the company or with its suppliers.

In June, U.S. food safety regulators warned the grocer that inspections at its Everett plant turned up violations that could result in food being “contaminated with filth or rendered injurious to health.”

The Austin, Texas-based company has reported five quarters of falling sales at established stores, and while the decline may be easing, Whole Foods faces intense competition from retailers ranging from Kroger (KR) to Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Amazon (AMZN).

In November, Whole Foods said its co-founder John Mackey would resume his job as solo chief executive six years after he split the role with co-CEO Walter Robb, known as the businessman who carried out Mackey’s vision.