Giant Food Inc. is offering voluntary buyouts to 4,200 of its store employees in Baltimore and Washington as part of the company's long-term plan to stay competitive in the region, Richard A. Baird, Giant's chief executive officer, said yesterday.

Eligible employees -- those hired before Jan. 15, 1992, for food; Oct. 9, 1983, for meat; or Aug. 27, 1977, for general merchandise/pharmacy -- would get a one-time lump sum payment of $30,000 if full-time workers and $22,000 if part-timers.

After a 30-day period, those employees would be eligible to apply for re-employment at Giant, the company said.

The company, which employs 27,000, is targeting employees at the higher wage and benefit scale in a two-tiered system, Baird said.

"If you choose to not participate, it will have absolutely no impact on your employment status with Giant," employees in the Baltimore area were told in a letter signed by Roger D. Olson, senior vice president for human resources, and Buddy Mays, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 27, which represents Giant's Baltimore-area workers. Employees, who were sent notices in late January, can apply through March 24.

Pub Date: 2/06/99