Whole Foods Market announced Monday it will cut about 1,500 jobs at stores company-wide over the next eight weeks, including its Lafayette location, which opened with great fanfare just a year ago at the corner of Ambassador Caffery Parkway and Settlers Trace.

The cuts come as the grocery chain store attempts to lower prices and invest in technology upgrades to keep up with competition.

The cuts represent about 1.6-percent of its workforce, the company estimates.

Kristina Bradford, a Whole Foods spokesperson for the region that includes Louisiana, told The Daily Advertiser on Monday the company-wide cuts will  affect its Louisiana stores, including the Lafayette location.

Whole Foods leadership anticipates many of the cuts will come through attrition and expects many of its affected employees will find jobs with the company by filling the nearly 2,000 open positions or new jobs that will be created when more than 100 new stores open.

Whole Foods was hurt recently by bad publicity when New York City officials found the company was overcharging customers. The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs said Whole Foods stores were overstating the weight of some pre-packaged products, such as chicken tenders and a vegetable platter.

The company said it is taking steps to prevent overcharging, including training workers and pledging to give away products if customers discover they were overcharged.

The company also is facing more competition as organic products it’s known for are becoming more widely available.

Nicknamed by some “Whole Paycheck,” Whole Foods is known for organic, natural foods and fresh produce, has been criticized for high prices. The company announced earlier this year plans to open a new chain of stores with lower prices designed to appeal to Millennials.