Providence, RI—United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) announced that the company is taking action to "enhance profitability, speed decision-making and reduce administrative layers, primarily by consolidating from four operating regions to three." As part of the restructuring effort, UNFI will eliminate approximately 150 roles, primarily in management or supervisory positions, according to a press release. 

“These changes are a step in our transformation plan," said Sandy Douglas, UNFI CEO. "The regional realignment will decrease layers of administrative management, increase leaders’ span of geographic responsibility, better align us to serve customers with less complexity, and support faster decision making. These changes are also intended to make our company more efficient and more profitable.”

The company also noted in the announcement that, in March, UNFI named Erin Horvath as Chief Operating Officer and Louis Martin as President of Wholesale. The goal of these appointments is to "better align leadership teams and resources to drive the Company’s customer-centric strategy and its four transformation initiatives, which aim to improve efficiency and enhance the customer and supplier experience," UNFI said.

UNFI will operate East, Central, and West regions

East Region: This will span from Maine to Florida and as far west as Tennessee, UNFI said. It will encompass 22 distribution centers and service more than 10,000 customers. Kelly Sosa, Region President, East, will lead this area.

Central Region: It will cover the Mississippi River to the Rockies, coering 21 states, 16 distribution centers, and approximately 9,000 customers. Tandy Harvey, Region President, Central, will lead.

West Region: This will span 10 states, from Utah to Alaska, serving approximately 11,000 customers from 14 distribution centers. Bob Garibaldi, Region President, West, will lead.

The regional presidents will report to Steve Dietz, UNFI Chief Customer Officer.

UNFI’s national accounts team will continue to be led by David Matthews. The team will support UNFI's largest national retailers, according to the release, along with serving the needs of online and ecommerce retailers. Stacey Kravitz will continue to lead UNFI Canada.