AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT DEL MONTE FOODS (03/13/2024)

MARCH 13, 2013 — 127 EMPLOYEES

Del Monte Foods will close its Toppenish, Washington facility and lay off 127 employees on April 26, 2024.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019 — Original post…

Walnut Creek, California-based Del Monte Foods, Inc., a division of Singapore-based Del Monte Pacific Limited, has announced a major restructuring that will result in the closure of three canned vegetable production plants, resulting in a layoff of an estimated 844 employees, 188 permanent workers, and 656 seasonal workers. The facilities are located in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, and Mendota, Illinois, and will be shuttered after the packing season sometime in June 2020. The Crystal City facility is now closed. In addition, the company has announced its intention to sell its facility in Cambria, Wisconsin.

A company spokesperson noted, “This decision is difficult and has come after careful consideration. This restructuring is a necessary step for us to remain competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace. Our asset-light strategy will lead to more efficient and lower cost operations." According to the company’s financial filings, “Del Monte continues to diversify beyond the canned goods aisle, a declining category, and introduced four new innovative products in the growing categories of refrigerated produce and frozen to cater to demand for health and wellness, snacking and convenience.”

Del Monte Pacific Limited CEO Joselito Campos, Jr. observed, “We are encouraged by the accelerated pace of innovation and new product launches, especially in the United States, taking us into new categories and formats outside the can, which is not growing.” He added, “At the same time, we have proactively reduced costs within our control amidst headwinds of rising tin prices. We are pleased to deliver a full-year net income for DMPL, driven by our results in Asia, while we invest in transforming our US business.”

This company should not be confused with its 1989 spin-off, Coral Gables, Florida-based Fresh Del Monte Produce, a producer and distributor of fresh and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables. It has a similar name and licenses the Del Monte brand logo.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT FREIGHTCAR AMERICA (06/30/21)

JUNE 30, 2021 BETRAYAL AT FREIGHTCAR AMERICA?

Investigative journalists at ProPublica have reported that the company had taken a $10 million in Paycheck Protection Program Loan meant for payroll expenses during the pandemic.

The allegation is that the company used the funds to keep their Shoals manufacturing facility in Muscle Shoals, Alabama operational in preparation of plant closure and a transfer of operations to the company’s new facility in Castaños, Mexico.

“Jim Meyer, FreightCar America’s CEO, told ProPublica in an email that he had not intended to shutter the plant when he received the PPP money, and that it had allowed the company to keep workers on the job through most of 2020 despite a sharp dropoff in new orders.”

“The efforts of our Shoals' team helped us to reduce our breakeven production levels by roughly one-third since the start of the plan," CEO Jim Meyer said. "However, the ongoing impact of the industry downturn has been further intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and required an additional and significant response to both protect our franchise and reposition the business for immediate success post-downturn.”

JULY 31, 2019 — Original post

Chicago, Illinois-based FreightCar America, a designer, manufacturer, and lessor of specialized railcars, has announced that they are realigning their manufacturing capabilities which will result in the permanent closure of its Roanoke, Virginia railcar manufacturing facility by the end of 2019. The realignment will result in 200 permanent layoffs commencing on September 20, 2019.

According to a statement by Jim Meyer, President and Chief Executive Officer of FreightCar America, “The closure of our Roanoke facility is another next step in our ‘Back to Basics’ strategy as we continue to streamline our manufacturing footprint and match it to our future product offering, Reducing our fixed costs and achieving world-class output from our much larger Shoals facility have always been core pillars of our turnaround strategy.We have spent the last two years building our talent, processes, and overall capabilities at Shoals and the plant is now in a position to accept the Roanoke models and volume. This action, when complete in the first half of 2020, is expected to save approximately $5 million per year. Our people at Roanoke have consistently performed above all expectations. We are extremely thankful for everything they have given the Company.”

The Shoals facility is a state-of-the-art railcar manufacturing plant located in Cherokee, Alabama.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT IKEA INDUSTRY

Danville, Virginia-based IKEA Industry, the only IKEA Industry manufacturing facility in North America, has announced the closure of the facility in December 2018 which will result in the permanent layoff of 300 employees. A number of non-production employees will remain employed until the second quarter of 2020.

The decision appears driven by financial considerations, primarily the cost of wood and the costs of labor, which would see the same products being manufactured at a 70% discount in IKEA’S existing facilities in Europe. The union shop produces wood-based products for IKEA retail outlets in the United States and Canada.

According to a company spokesperson, “This was an extremely difficult decision to receive. We made every effort to improve and maintain the competitiveness of this plant, but unfortunately, the right cost conditions are not in place to continue production in Danville, Virginia for the long-term. We will do everything we can in the coming months to support our co-workers through this change as they look for new jobs and training opportunities.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?