Amazon has reportedly begun incorporating Whole Foods Market's corporate employees into its own workforce system earlier this year. The company is now preparing to extend this integration to thousands of frontline Whole Foods employees.
Internal documents reveal this move is part of Amazon's "Project Cremini," which aims to fully integrate Whole Foods' 100,000+ corporate and frontline employees into Amazon's core operational structure by next year.
Once completed, all Whole Foods employees—both corporate and frontline—will use Amazon's internal systems for performance evaluations, work tools, and compensation, with paychecks issued directly by Amazon.
This marks Amazon's latest effort to unify its grocery operations and revitalize Whole Foods' growth. Since its $13.7 billion acquisition by Amazon in 2017, Whole Foods has largely operated independently. However, persistent challenges in the grocery sector have prompted repeated restructuring and shifting priorities.
The move also represents the most significant imprint yet by Jason Buechel, Whole Foods CEO and Amazon’s Global Vice President of Grocery. Since his promotion earlier this year to oversee Amazon’s entire grocery business, Buechel has accelerated Whole Foods' integration with its parent company, advocating a "One Grocery" approach.
Amazon spokesperson Griffin Buch stated in an email that the company’s grocery business currently serves over 150 million customers with nearly 3 million grocery and household items. Buch added that in the first half of 2025, Amazon’s daily essentials—including groceries and household goods—grew at nearly twice the rate of all other U.S. categories.
Buch said, "As we continue making it easier for customers through collaboration and innovation, we’re exploring new ways to operate our grocery and daily essentials business. These efforts reflect our focus on making grocery shopping more convenient, faster, and affordable."
An internal document shows Amazon recently began consolidating its online and physical store vendor management teams. Previously, the company used separate supply chain teams, infrastructure, and tools for vendor purchasing and forecasting, leading to inefficiencies.
The document estimates this three-year process, starting with Amazon’s 16 largest grocery suppliers, will generate at least $94 million in additional profit. The company aims to "create a single, efficient grocery business" and "eliminate redundant work."
This year, Amazon started integrating Whole Foods’ corporate employees into its own workforce programs, including performance reviews and compensation structures. Additionally, sources say some Whole Foods employees can now apply for Amazon roles without following the tech giant’s standard interview process.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy appears fully supportive of the grocery overhaul.
During last month’s earnings call, he noted Amazon’s grocery and daily essentials business surpassed $100 billion in gross merchandise sales over the past year, though much of that came from non-perishables like canned goods and beauty products.
Jassy added that Amazon’s online grocery customers shop more frequently and return twice as often as non-perishable shoppers. He believes these repeat customers are fundamentally changing how people buy groceries.
"This has truly transformed the trajectory and scale of our grocery business," Jassy said. "I also believe the traditional model of weekly grocery restocking is evolving—and Amazon is a big part of that shift."
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