Ralphs and Food 4 Less to hire more than 2,000 Southern California workers

Kroger Co., owner of the Ralphs and Food 4 Less chains, said Friday that it plans to hire 20,000 workers across its vast supermarket holdings, including more than 2,000 in Southern California.

The hiring spree should provide a boost to the Southern California labor market. Ralphs and Food 4 Less plan to hire about 2,150 workers across their more than 350 Southland stores, spokeswoman Kendra Doyel said.

The positions are varied and are both union and nonunion positions, Doyel said. She declined to provide a salary range.

“We need some entry level and we need some more experienced” workers, she said.

Doyel said business is growing and the company has had some turnover — leading to the hiring binge.

Kroger, the nation’s largest supermarket chain, has been on a growth spurt lately. The Cincinnati company last year acquired North Carolina grocery chain Harris Teeter.

In July, Kroger said it was buying Vitacost.com, an online seller of health-oriented products.

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