ConAgra to close Ohio popcorn facilities, lay off 170
Jun 27, 2014 12:00 AM
2014-06-27T00:00:00
ConAgra to close Ohio popcorn facilities, lay off 170
ConAgra Foods Inc.
POSTED: TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014 1:00 AM
By Barbara SoderlinWorld-Herald staff writer
ConAgra Foods will lay off 170 more workers when it closes two Ohio facilities that produce microwave popcorn, on top of the 450 workers nationwide whose positions the company eliminated last week.
A popcorn manufacturing facility in Marion, Ohio, will close in October, and a popcorn processing facility in Morral, Ohio, will close at the end of June 2015, employees were told Thursday. Microwave popcorn sales have fallen in recent years as ready-to-eat popcorn sales have taken off in the snack industry.
ConAgra spokeswoman Monique Farmer said operations will transition to other ConAgra plants that have similar capabilities.
“This transition will allow the company to operate more efficiently and effectively,” she said in an email. “We are confident that our (fiscal year 2015) strategies in that category will better position us for success.”
The 450 job cuts, which included about 100 positions in Omaha, are part of an effort to cut $100 million in annual sales, general and administrative expenses as sales have slowed for some of ConAgra’s marquee consumer brands.
The Omaha-based packaged foods manufacturer is also streamlining its supply chain as it integrates 2013 acquisition Ralcorp Holdings into its business. That “network optimization” was cited as the cause of the Ohio closings.
Economic development officials in the Ohio communities told local media that the announcement about the closings came as a surprise.
ConAgra had eliminated 25 positions at the Marion plant in 2012, and in 2011, it laid off 95 workers when it closed a microwave popcorn plant in Hamburg, Iowa. In November, ConAgra announced it would lay off about 38 workers at its ready-to-eat popcorn snack plant in Lincoln.
ConAgra in March announced plans to close two former Ralcorp facilities in western New York, a bakery and a sauce and salad dressing plant, which will put more than 400 people out of work. In 2013, it closed a third former Ralcorp facility in New York, a bakery, which employed 250.
At the end of 2013, ConAgra employed about 2,900 in Nebraska and about 36,000 companywide.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1336, barbara.soderlin@owh.com
ConAgra Foods Inc.
POSTED: TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014 1:00 AM
By Barbara SoderlinWorld-Herald staff writer
ConAgra Foods will lay off 170 more workers when it closes two Ohio facilities that produce microwave popcorn, on top of the 450 workers nationwide whose positions the company eliminated last week.
A popcorn manufacturing facility in Marion, Ohio, will close in October, and a popcorn processing facility in Morral, Ohio, will close at the end of June 2015, employees were told Thursday. Microwave popcorn sales have fallen in recent years as ready-to-eat popcorn sales have taken off in the snack industry.
ConAgra spokeswoman Monique Farmer said operations will transition to other ConAgra plants that have similar capabilities.
“This transition will allow the company to operate more efficiently and effectively,” she said in an email. “We are confident that our (fiscal year 2015) strategies in that category will better position us for success.”
The 450 job cuts, which included about 100 positions in Omaha, are part of an effort to cut $100 million in annual sales, general and administrative expenses as sales have slowed for some of ConAgra’s marquee consumer brands.
The Omaha-based packaged foods manufacturer is also streamlining its supply chain as it integrates 2013 acquisition Ralcorp Holdings into its business. That “network optimization” was cited as the cause of the Ohio closings.
Economic development officials in the Ohio communities told local media that the announcement about the closings came as a surprise.
ConAgra had eliminated 25 positions at the Marion plant in 2012, and in 2011, it laid off 95 workers when it closed a microwave popcorn plant in Hamburg, Iowa. In November, ConAgra announced it would lay off about 38 workers at its ready-to-eat popcorn snack plant in Lincoln.
ConAgra in March announced plans to close two former Ralcorp facilities in western New York, a bakery and a sauce and salad dressing plant, which will put more than 400 people out of work. In 2013, it closed a third former Ralcorp facility in New York, a bakery, which employed 250.
At the end of 2013, ConAgra employed about 2,900 in Nebraska and about 36,000 companywide.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1336, barbara.soderlin@owh.com
Copyright ©2014 Omaha World-Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald. To purchase rights to republish this article, please contact The World-Herald Store.