Thrifty to Sell Warehouse, Lay Off Workers

The Thrifty drugstore chain says it will close a warehouse here and lay off as many as 70 workers.

Thrifty, which agreed to be bought recently by a group that includes management, said it will combine warehousing and distribution in another warehouse in Ontario early next year.

The 400,000-square-foot warehouse on East Cerritos Avenue in Anaheim will be sold. An additional 130 or more employees now working there will be transferred to Ontario, the company said.

Thrifty is part of Pacific Enterprises, the parent of Southern California Gas Co. Trying to diversify out of the natural-gas business, Pacific Enterprises bought the 620-store Thrifty chain in 1986.

But Pacific’s retail businesses, which also included the Big 5 Sporting Goods chain, turned into money-losers. Leonard Green & Partners, a Los Angeles investment group, agreed in May to buy both chains and three smaller retailers from Pacific Enterprises for a reported $275 million. That was far less than Pacific had paid for them.

The sale is expected to close at the end of the month.