CINCINNATI, OH - Kroger has announced that it will invest $46 million in a new expansion expected to add 650 jobs in produce distribution, customer service, and human resources.

"Kroger continues to innovate and invest to grow our business, and we are pleased to be able to do both in Ohio," said Mike Schlotman, Kroger's SVP and CFO, reports Cinncinati.com. 

Kroger was approved for this 65 percent, 10-year job creation tax credit on Monday morning from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority. The expansion will turn a former Nash Finch distribution facility purchased by Kroger this past spring into a new produce distribution center. 

"The most exciting thing about being a growing company is that as Kroger expands, so do the opportunities for our associates," said Schlotman in a state-issued press release. "We created nearly 25,000 new jobs last year, including nearly 600 here in the Cincinnati area."

Another part of the expansion will renovating be a warehouse and distribution facility that Kroger purchased for $9.3 million in March, according to Hamilton County records.

Neil Hensley, Economic Development Director for the city of Blue Ash told The Cincinnati Business Courier, “This is the biggest new job creation project in a decade,” Hensley told me. “We’re very excited.”

According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, Kroger created about 25,000 news jobs last year, including 600 in the Greater Cincinnati area.

The Kroger Co.