Amazon-owned Whole Foods ends partnership with Instacart

USA TODAY
The move comes a little over a year after Amazon acquired Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. Amazon has its own delivery service called AmazonFresh.

Whole Foods will no longer be working with Instacart, the grocery delivery company announced.

The move comes a little over a year after Amazon acquired Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. Amazon has its own delivery service called AmazonFresh.

Whole Foods and Instacart began working together in 2014. Two years later, they signed a deal for Instacart to become the chain's exclusive delivery carrier.

Instacart currently employs 1,415 couriers, which it calls "in-store shoppers," across 76 Whole Foods locations.

About 75 percent of the employees will be transferred to other locations, Instacart Founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta said in a statement. However, the remaining 25 percent — about 350 — will be laid off and will receive three-month separation packages as well as tenure-based compensation.

Instacart will begin winding down its operations at Whole Foods on Feb. 10 and exit the marketplace in the succeeding months, the company said.

"For our in-store Whole Foods shoppers who are personally impacted by this news, we’re deeply committed to being transparent about what this means for you and plan to share any updates with you as they become available," Mehta said.

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Follow USA TODAY intern Ben Tobin on Twitter: @TobinBen

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amazon-owned Whole Foods ends partnership with Instacart