Webvan Files for Chapter 11 Protection

As expected, Webvan Group Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors after shutting down operations and firing 2,000 workers this week.

The company lost more than $800 million trying to get customers to buy groceries via the Internet.

Webvan already had eliminated jobs and scaled back expansion plans as its stock lost almost all of its value, from a peak of $34 on the first trading day in November 1999. The company said it planned to transform the way groceries were sold.

The Foster City, Calif.-based company has retained the Los Angeles law firm of Pachulski Stang Ziehl Young & Jones to handle its bankruptcy, according to court documents.