The company said about 250 corporate jobs in the Oscar Mayer and USA meat business unit will be relocated from Madison, Wisconsin, to Chicago. In total, 2,600 jobs across the company’s manufacturing workforce will be lost.
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There are also built-in challenges in the mix of Kraft Heinz products as consumers are increasingly reaching for healthier and less processed food.
On a conference call with analysts Thursday, Kraft Heinz CEO Bernardo Hees and other executives said the integration of the two companies was off to a good start and the combined entity was well-positioned for 2016.
Heinz, led by Brazilian investor 3G Capital, bought Kraft with the backing of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
He further stated that these moves will make Kraft Heinz much more competitive and will speed up its future growth.
Kraft Heinz brands include Capri Sun, Classico, Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Lunchables, Maxwell House, Ore-Ida, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Planters, Plasmon, Quero, Weight Watchers Smart Ones and Velveeta.
The company said it also will shift meat production from its Oscar Mayer plant in Davenport, Iowa, to a planned $203 million plant to be built several miles away.
“In April 2014 Kraft Foods informed WEDC they would not be able to utilize the tax credits and voluntarily withdrew from the award, but communicated at the time they appreciated our support and would continue to partner with WEDC across the State of Wisconsin”, Michels said.
Kraft Heinz will still employ about 18,000 people at 41 plants in North America.
Commenting on the results, CEO Bernardo Hees said, “Our third quarter results reflect continued progress as we integrate these two great companies while driving greater accountability, discipline and efficiency”.
Hoffman says they have a contract for at least 475 jobs to be retained as part of the project.
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The SVP stated that the company will put in “hundreds of millions of dollars in improving capacity utilization and modernizing many of our facilities with the installation of state-of-the-art production lines”. “Kraft Heinz fully appreciates and regrets the impact our decision will have on employees, their families and the communities in which these facilities are located”. “We were led to believe the St. Marys plant was secure”, said Mayor Al Strathdee in an interview with CBC News.
