What's in store for Sault Ste. Marie Metro stores?

An interesting development on the Sault Ste. Marie grocery store landscape.

At least one of the community's three local Metro stores may close or be re-branded to Food Basics, as part of the company's reorganization of its Ontario grocery store network over the next few months.

Montreal-based Metro Inc. has stated it will offer buyouts to some of its unionized employees.

It is not yet known how many Metro employees will be affected across Ontario, nor is it known for certain how Sault Ste. Marie's three Metro locations and their employees will be affected.

That is expected to be known early in 2014.

There are approximately 300 people working for Metro in Sault Ste. Marie, where it runs three Metro stores and two Food Basics stores.

Metro's reorganization strategy is a response to competition from other retailers which offer grocery items, such as Walmart.