LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Three weeks after Kroger announced it plans to pull out of Groveland, a CareerSource job fair is being held at the soon-to-be closed fulfillment center.
The event is dedicated to the more than 900 Kroger employees facing unemployment and scheduled for Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Kroger Fulfillment Center at 7925 American Way.
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Janee Olds, who is CareerSource Central Florida’s director of workforce operations, said it was important to make the job fair convenient for impacted workers and hold the event as quickly as possible.
“It’s impacting the income of the household. That’s why we wanted to jump in and work with Kroger immediately to make sure that we can get them something,” Olds said.
The Kroger Fulfillment Center in Groveland opened in 2019 following a $55 million investment and has become one of Lake County’s biggest employers.
“A lot of layoffs are happening right now,” Olds said. “We’re receiving more notices, and we want to make sure that we are boots on the ground and helping them where they are.”
More than 30 employers are expected to attend the job fair, along with six training providers.
“Some of the employers they can expect are FedEx, CVS distribution center, Dunkin Donuts distribution center, Universal, and Disney, to name a few,” Olds said.
Earlier this month, Kroger agreed to reimburse Lake County $460,714 in incentives by the end of the year.
Lake County also voted to reallocate $400,000 in incentives that would have been paid to Kroger and business partner Ocado.
County leaders directed the money to go toward training and upskilling through CareerSource.