Canadian grocery giant Loblaw plans to close 22 unprofitable stores and start rolling out an internet-based home delivery service in December.

(Aaron Vincent Elkaim / Canadian Press)

The announcements come nearly a month after Loblaw said it was cutting about 500 corporate and store support positions.

The retailer is not yet naming the stores that will close but expects the closures will be mostly done by the end of March 2018.

Starting December 6 in Toronto it’ll also begin rolling out an online home delivery service.

Loblaw’s teaming up with Instacart, which operates in 150 markets in the U.S.

Online orders from Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, and T & T stores will be shipped to homes in as little as an hour.

This will put it up against Grocery Gateway, which is run by Longo’s.

The service will launch in Vancouver in January with expansion to more Canadian markets next year.