A man who worked for a major US supermarket chain has been found dead in a freezer at one of its stores in North Carolina.

Raleigh police were called after a worker at a Food Lion store at 4500 Capital Boulevard in the city’s northeast corner found his coworker unconscious Tuesday.

An investigation by the Raleigh Police Department, OSHA and other labor and safety authorities found no evidence of foul play.

Local police suspect the man suffered a medical emergency on Monday evening before dying in the freezer.

Food Lion operates more than 1,100 stores in 10 states and employs more than 85,000 people.

The budget supermarket was founded in 1957 as Food Town and changed its name in 1983.

A man who worked for a major US supermarket chain was found dead in a freezer at one of its stores in North Carolina (File photo)

Food Lion has more than 1,100 stores in 10 states and employs more than 85,000 people (image from file)

Raleigh police were called after an employee at a Food Lion store on the 4500 block of Capital Boulevard in the city’s northeast

Although sales rose slightly in the first quarter of the year, by 1.3%, Americans are leaving dollar stores en masse.

Dollar Tree shares fell to a nine-year low earlier this week after the chain reported disappointing earnings results.

Earlier this year, the company announced it would close 600 Family Dollar stores by 2024 after struggling to integrate the chain into its own business.

Dollar General, the largest dollar store in the U.S., which is mainly found in poor rural areas, also reported poor sales last month and saw its stock price plummet.

Both companies blamed their problems on their customers’ economic worries, saying Americans struggling financially are cutting back on even the most basic items after years of severe inflation.

But supply chain problems, business missteps, underinvestment in bad stores and competition from big box stores are also contributing to the decline at dollar stores, retail experts say.

Dollar stores have been criticized for targeting store openings in vulnerable communities and exploiting poverty.

But as low-income Americans cut back on spending, the cracks are beginning to show.

“The dollar store sector appears to be facing existential uncertainties,” UBS analyst Michael Lasser said in a note last week, CNN reported.