A Major Food Company Now Makes Unexpected Layoffs in Wisconsin

April 18, 2024

A major food company now makes unexpected layoffs in Wisconsin as a plant prepares to let go of more than two hundred people.

Conagra Brands said it regularly evaluates its production network to ensure it is “operating as effectively and efficiently as possible” in order to remain competitive.

The company is closing a facility in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin that produces its Birds Eye frozen brand.

The Illinois-based CPG giant said that a total of 252 people will lose their jobs.

Production at the plant is expected to end on or around June 10, reports Food Dive.

In a statement, Conagra said it will offer severance benefits to employees.

“We continually evaluate our overall network of food production facilities to ensure that we are operating as effectively and efficiently as possible so we can remain competitive as a company,” the statement said.

“We have determined that we can continue to meet the needs of the business by making these products in fewer facilities.”

In addition to Birds Eye, Conagra produces Marie Callender’s and Healthy Choice frozen meals as well as Slim Jim meat snacks and Orville Redenbacher popcorn.

Conagra is the latest food manufacturer to announce the closure of a plant as companies aim to streamline production to increase efficiencies and boost their bottom line.

The moves come as they pass on higher costs to consumers, which have responded by purchasing few products.

Del Monte Foods said in February it will close two plants to “align and streamline operational capacity with consumer demand.”

Several other food companies have announced plant closures, including snacks maker Kellanova, chips producer Utz Brands, cereal manufacturer Post Holdings and meat and poultry processor Tyson Foods.

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Also Read: A Massive Grocery Brand Now Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

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These massive retailers are now leaving low income areas, leaving residents to struggle after closures begin to create a food desert.

Residents in New Mexico have been left struggling to find reliable food options after abrupt store closures created a food desert, reports The US Sun.

Local officials slammed Walmart and Walgreens for leading residents to turn to food pantries after exiting a low-income area in Albuquerque.

Over one year ago, a Walmart in the eastern part of Albuquerque shut down, and since then a nearby Walgreens and Family Dollar have also closed.

Other supermarket chains are in no rush to fill the vacant storefronts, leaving residents to find alternative options for fresh food.

Food pantries in the area are especially feeling the strain, and volunteers say they don’t know how much longer they can patch the holes in the community.

“It’s just amazing to see how they run to these tables and in just a short matter of time, it’s gone,” Pastor Joanne Landry, who runs the nonprofit Compassion Services Center, told local NBC affiliate KOB in March.

“A lot of people, they need food.”

District 6 City Councilor Nichole Rogers also noticed the critical needs and said the closures left a “void” in her district in an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun.

She said poor access to produce can have a “ripple effect” on the health of the community.

“So it’s a top priority to get some fresh food here as soon as possible,” she said.

For Rogers, the most immediate solution is urging grocery brands to sell their property to the local government at a fair price.

That way, she can set up farmers’ markets and food co-ops where groceries can be subsidized and sold at a fair price.

However, she said the supermarkets have priced their properties so high that the city can’t make an offer.

“Walmart’s holding out for the highest bidder, which is, you know, sad,” Rogers said.

“I wish they would just sell to the city so that we would have more of a say in what happens.”

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Also Read: Giant Restaurant Now Makes An Unexpected Closure in South Carolina

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