BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University’s current food service provider is laying off hundreds of positions.

The Washington State Employment and Security Dept received notice that Aramark was planning to lay off almost 400 Bellingham employees.

Aramark is a major national food service and uniform company and previously laid off nearly 200 people at WWU during the height of the pandemic.

Earlier this month, WWU announced that they would be starting a new contract with Chartwells Higher Education as of September 1st.

WWU said in a press release that Chartwells will focus on providing students with foods sourced from as many local and regional farmers as possible.

They are also working on plans to operate after-hours “virtual restaurants,” offering robot-delivered meals to students who place mobile orders.

Aramark’s layoffs are scheduled for the end of August, but WWU said that those employees will have the opportunity to be hired through Chartwells.