C&S Wholesale Services LLC is closing its Baldwin distribution center and eliminating about 490 employees.
The company shares leadership with C&S Wholesale Grocers, which bought 170 Winn-Dixie stores from Aldi with Southeastern Grocers CEO Anthony Hucker.
C&S Wholesale Services notified the state and the Town of Baldwin on April 30 that it will close the center at 15500 W. Beaver St. during a 14-day period starting July 4. Its signs along Interstate 10 identify it as a Winn-Dixie center.
The notification under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act says the Baldwin layoff is permanent and the operations will cease. Baldwin is in western Duval County.
The largest concentration of the jobs appears to be 132 drivers. The remainder comprises the rest of the staff.
Lauren La Bruno, C&S Wholesale Grocers senior vice president of communications and marketing, said in a statement May 2:
"It is a long-standing practice of C&S Wholesale Grocers not to comment on questions concerning our structure," it said.
"C&S remains steadfast in our transformation strategy to drive long-term growth. We continue to pursue opportunities to increase our customer base, expand our retail and wholesale footprint and of course, build on our legacy of braggingly happy customers."
Baldwin Mayor Sean Lynch said by email May 2 that he left a voicemail with C&S human resources. "I have no other information at this time," Lynch said.
Ed Randolph, executive director of the Jacksonville Office of Economic Development, said by email May 2 that the property is privately owned, "so we are unaware as to what will happen to it."
Randolph said his office has contacted JAX Chamber and its JAXUSA Partnership economic development division about helping the C&S employees find jobs.
"We have already reached out to JAXUSA/Chamber to help us coordinate with similar companies in Jacksonville that may have open positions, and try and our best to accommodate those individuals that will soon be separating from C&S," he said.
C&S Wholesale Grocers continues to lease warehouse space at 5050 Edgewood Court where Winn-Dixie was long based before it moved to a Baymeadows area office building.
Meredith Hurley, senior director of Communications and Community for Southeastern Grocers, said May 2 in a statement:
"C&S has notified its workforce of a right-sizing in anticipation of exiting the facility. We will not comment on their operations, but we do know they remain fully committed to our fleet of stores and our ongoing operations," it said.
"This decision does not affect our SEG stores or supply chain capabilities, and we do not expect this to impact or compromise our ability to keep Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie locations consistently and reliably stocked for our customers."
A group of private investors led by Hucker and C&S Wholesale Grocers, a longtime supplier to the company, announced Feb. 7 it acquired Southeastern Grocers and 170 remaining Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, from Aldi.
State corporate records show C&S Wholesale Grocers and C&S Wholesale Services both are led by RJJRP Holdings Inc. of Keene, New Hampshire.
Southeastern Grocers LLC has been restructuring, reducing staff and reviewing its need for space at its leased Prominence Office Park headquarters and store support center as it adjusts with the ownership of the stores it bought from Aldi U.S.
The privately owned group did not say how many employees will be cut or where it will operate and in how much space.
The Jacksonville-based supermarket chain sold about 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores to discount grocer Aldi U.S. in March 2024 and bought back 170 less than a year later in February 2025.
Germany-based Aldi bases Aldi U.S. in Batavia, Illinois.
Upon the 2024 purchase, Aldi said it would convert 220 Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores into Aldi supermarkets.
Aldi is continuing with its conversion of those 220 stores, with Southeastern Grocers continuing to operate them as Winn-Dixie or Harveys stores until they are closed for transition. That process is scheduled to conclude in 2027.
Hurley issued a statement April 9 about the company’s restructuring and job cuts.
“As our business evolves and we look to the future, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to restructure our Store Support Center in Jacksonville and our Field Support teams across the Southeast,” Hurley said.
“Taking action now is the most prudent thing to do for the long-term health of the business, as we know that we will progressively operate a smaller fleet of stores following previously agreed conversions through 2027,” she said.
“Aligning our structure with the direction of our business is essential to strengthening our operations, ensuring we can continue to serve our customers, support our stores and position our company for long-term success.”
Hurley said the changes do not directly impact the in-store teams, but “we recognize the significance of this decision and the effect it has on all of our associates.”
“We carefully consider every single role when making tough decisions, but as a private company, we are not disclosing the number of impacted associates,” she said.
“However, we are committed to navigating this process with care, respect and transparency, and we deeply appreciate the dedication and contributions of every affected team member.”
Southeastern Grocers has not said how many employees it has had in recent years. Upon its relocation to Prominence Office Park in 2016, Southeastern Grocers said 790 associates moved and more than 330 remained in Westside at 5050 Edgewood Court, which became the Southeastern Grocers Technology Center.
Hurley said Southeastern Grocers remains “focused on our customers and the communities we serve. We are committed to building a stronger future – one that honors our 100-year legacy while transforming to meet the needs of tomorrow.”