Nash Finch's former headquarters in Edina will remain a significant employment hub for the Michigan company that acquired Nash last November, SpartanNash's CEO said Tuesday.

SpartanNash was created when Grand Rapids-based Spartan Stores bought Nash Finch for $1.3 billion, creating a grocery wholesaler with greater geographic scope and economies of scale.

Nash Finch had about 500 employees at its France Avenue headquarters before the deal was completed.

"There is just no plan, period, to empty this building," said Dennis Eidson, Spartan Nash's CEO. "There's going to be a robust population here."

While Eidson released no current job count for the Edina office, he said that as far as layoffs, "we are talking about very, very small numbers being displaced."

SpartanNash is in the midst of a three-year plan to integrate the two companies, including their IT systems. "The whole integration from my perception is very much on plan," Eidson said.

He was in Edina ­Tuesday participating in an Earth Week effort to recycle employees' unwanted goods with Goodwill Industries. Spartan Stores had partnered with Goodwill in other states on such recycling initiatives.

Mike Hughlett • 612-673-7003