US Foods Holding Corp. is firing hundreds of employees as part of a restructuring of its corporate headquarters near Chicago, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the plans.

The nation’s second largest provider of food and other supplies to restaurants and cafeterias told employees on Thursday to expect cuts in corporate roles like accounting, IT services and human relations over the next 12 to 18 months, the newspaper reported.

The company, which has about $23 billion in annual sales and 25,000 employees nationally, last year had expected to reap the benefits of greater scale and efficiency by merging with rival Sysco Corp. The combination failed to get the approval of federal antitrust authorities.

US Foods sold stock in an initial public offering in May, reaping $1 billion to help pay off debt and fund small acquisitions. The company has been working to consolidate back-office jobs that support its 62 distribution centers, the WSJ reported.

“This is a continuation of work we did before our IPO...and something we believe will further support our long-term growth,” a US Foods spokeswoman told the newspaper.

US Foods has fallen about 8 percent since it started trading in May. Shares declined 0.5 percent to $22.94 a share by 2:20 p.m. Friday. 

Sysco, a larger competitor, announced 1,200 job cuts this year. Falling food costs are hurting food distributors by reducing the value of their inventory, especially for beef and dairy products.

US Foods on Wednesday agreed to acquire Save On Seafood, a seafood processor and distributor in St. Petersburg, Fla., with annual sales of more than $80 million.