Convenience store chain 7-Eleven lays off about 880 U.S. employees

July 21 (Reuters) - Convenience store chain 7-Eleven slashed about 880 corporate jobs in the United States, a company spokesperson said on Thursday, as it finalises its organization structure.

The retail chain, owned by Japanese retailer Seven & i Holdings Co, cut jobs at its support centers and field support operations in Irving, Texas and Enon, Ohio, the spokesperson said in an email to Reuters.

7-Eleven joins a host of U.S.-based companies who have recently laid off their employees as the country struggles with broadening inflationary pressure.

"We are just over a year into our integration process following the $21 billion Speedway acquisition and have made significant progress. As with any integration, our approach includes assessing our combined organization structure," the spokesperson added.

In 2020, Seven & i Holdings had agreed to buy Marathon Petroleum Corp's Speedway gas stations for $21 billion. The deal boosted its 7-Eleven store count in the United States and Canada to about 14,000.

U.S. activist investor ValueAct Capital bought a $1.53 billion stake in Seven & i Holdings last year, and has been urging the company to make structural reforms and sell off assets at 7-Eleven.

In April, Seven & i Holdings said it would revamp its board as it seeks to accelerate overseas growth.

The news of the job cuts was initially reported by CNBC on Thursday.

(Reporting by Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Akanksha Khushi; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)