A Midwest grocery chain said a 'challenging labor market' prompted plans to close most of its 111 stores an hour early every day. It's also paying bonuses of up to $600 to some workers.

• The grocery chain Schnucks on Monday said it'd close most stores an hour early starting next week.
• The family-owned Midwestern company also said it'd give eligible workers bonuses of up to $600.
• Schnucks said it planned to give workers December 26 off to spend more time with their families.

A family-owned grocery chain with 111 stores in the Midwest says it plans to close most of them an hour earlier than usual because of what it describes as a "challenging labor market."

Schnucks, which has stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, also pointed to "evolving customer shopping patterns" when it announced the new opening hours Monday.

Many businesses across the US have cut their opening hours because they can't find enough employees amid the nationwide labor shortage. At the same time, workers are quitting jobs en masse in search of better pay, benefits, and working conditions, adding to the difficulties for businesses.

Schnucks, which has close to 15,000 employees, also said Monday that it planned to give eligible staff members a one-time performance and retention bonus of up to $600, based on hours worked, to be paid in January.

Schnucks has more than 600 vacancies listed on its website and said it planned to hold career fairs at all 111 stores as well as its bakery plant on October 7.

In a move described as new for 2021, Schnucks also said it would close all its stores on December 26 "in an effort to extend the holiday time teammates have with their families."

Monday's announcement said most Schnucks stores would observe new daily operating hours of 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. starting next Monday, October 4. Most Schnucks stores currently close at 10 p.m. Schnucks also announced shorter operating hours for all its deli, meat, and seafood service counters.

Some Chick-fil-A restaurants in Alabama and Los Angeles have reduced their hours. The owner of Uncle Jack's Steakhouse told Insider its restaurant in Manhattan had begun to be closed on weekends and cut its opening time by three hours on weekdays.

Retailers including Target, Walgreens, and Tops Markets are offering hiring and retention bonuses.