Moncton will see the majority of job losses as Co-op Atlantic closes grocery stores in four locations across Atlantic Canada and lays off 400 employees.

On Thursday the company announced it would close stores in Moncton, Labrador City, N.L., Grand Bay-Westfield, N.B., and Charlottetown.

It’s in the Hub City that workers will take the biggest hit, with the closure of the company’s headquarters in Moncton resulting in 250 job losses.

On Friday, many would-be shoppers showed up at Co-Atlantic’s Moncton location only to find the doors locked.

“It's sad. It's sad that they'll have to find another source of employment,” said Co-op member Gloria Scribner.

“I don't like the bigger supermarkets because it seems like you have to walk forever to get from one thing to another. It's terrible,” she said.

Co-op member Larry Doucette says he’ll miss the Moncton store.

“We're here almost every day a lot of times just for the odd thing but every second week we do all our shopping here,” he said.

On Thursday, Co-op Atlantic obtained an order from the court under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

The court also ruled on severance packages for the 400 employees who will be laid off in the coming weeks.

“Each employee received four weeks severance plus all their entitled vacation pay and payment for all of the hours accrued up until when they do end up leaving the organization,” said company spokesperson Mike Randall.

Only the company’s corporate-owned stores are closing, leaving 60 individually owned Co-op stores unaffected by the news.

Back in May, Co-op Atlantic members voted to get out of the grocery, retail and gas business, in an attempt to save independent stores and their 2,200 employees.

The wholesale business was sold to Sobeys.

“These Co-ops — although they have a different supplier now, a different wholesaler where they get their products — these stores are still open and that's an important part of why all of this was done,” Randall said.

Sobeys also bought five retail stores and five gas bars from Co-op Atlantic.

Most of the grocery stores are to be rebranded as Foodland locations, while four of the gas bars will become Shell stations.

With files from The Canadian Press and CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis