Amazon is feared to be planning a bloodbath at Whole Foods.

The Seattle-based web giant, which recently bought the upscale grocer for £11 billion, could slash cashier positions as it automates jobs and cuts prices, Bloomberg has claimed.

2 Trendy food lovers were shocked when Amazon bought Whole Foods, a store chain beloved of wealthy lefties Credit: Getty Images

The move is part of Amazon’s strategy for Whole Foods to sell to middle and lower income consumers, the report alleged.

Amazon may be seeking to make the high-end grocer more competitive with Walmart and other mass-market retailers in the US, the New York Post reports.

2 Amazon announced last week it was taking over Whole Foods Markets for £11billion Credit: Getty Images

An Amazon spokesman denied that job cuts are in the works for Whole Foods.

Technology will replace the cashier jobs at Whole Foods, using sensor technology that’s being pioneered at the experimental Amazon Go store concept in Seattle, according to the report.

In February, a source told The New York Post that “Amazon will utilise technology to minimise labour” at new, machine-automated supermarkets that could operate with as few as three employees.

At Whole Foods, technology would enable people to pay using their smartphone, instead of seeing a cashier, or even using a kiosk, a source told Bloomberg.

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Amazon hopes that the move will help differentiate Whole Foods from other grocers.

The surprise acquisition of Whole Foods comes at a time when Amazon has been inserting itself into the grocery market, and Whole Foods had been cutting prices.

The online retail giant's surprise acquisition of Whole Foods comes at a time when Amazon has been inserting itself into the grocery market, and Whole Foods had been cutting prices.

In recent times, Whole Foods has been battling its worst sales slump since its IPO in 1997, resulting in pressure this spring from activist hedge fund Jana Partners, which Whole Foods CEO John Mackey accused last week of being “greedy bastards.”

Amazon may also put some of its own private-label products into Whole Foods stores, replacing some of Whole Foods’ pricier products, according to Bloomberg.

Drew Herdener, an Amazon spokesman, said the company has “no plans to use no-checkout technology to automate the jobs of cashiers at Whole Foods and no job reductions are planned.”

Robert Colville, commentator and editor of CapX, recently said Amazon was a "monster" we should all be afraid of.