Kellogg announced job cuts in Battle Creek beginning the first of the year.

According to WWMT,

By the first of the year, the cuts will begin. Right now Kellogg tells us 223 jobs, both salaried and hourly, will be cut in Battle Creek. Workers say that's out of the 400 jobs in the production area currently. We are told Kellogg will be ceasing operations in the warehouse and transitioning to a direct-ship model of distribution, similar to other Kellogg plants.

Kellogg released the following statement Thursday,

As part of our ongoing effort to improve the sustainability and viability of our U.S. ready-to-eat cereal (RTEC) plants in support of our 2020 Growth Plan, we have continued to look for opportunities to ensure we have the right manufacturing capacity — in the right locations — to better meet our current and future production needs, and the evolving needs of our consumers.

Today, we are announcing our intent to simplify and streamline our operations by focusing each of our RTEC plants on at least two scaled manufacturing platforms, such as rice or bran. If finalized, these changes would optimize the capacity we currently have, allow for future growth and decrease the total cost-per-pound in our RTEC network, which will improve margins.

Specifically, at our Battle Creek plant, we plan to simplify operations to increase production of our bran cereals and invest in bumped rice production for Rice Krispies Treats – two platforms that are growing. This is important because, as a company, we feel that it is critical to better position the plant for success. In addition, we would idle two existing lines at the plant, but keep them in place and ready should volumes improve. This realignment of production would also mean ceasing operations in the warehouse and transitioning to a direct-ship model of distribution, similar to other plants in the network.

While this is the right thing to do for our business, these changes would be difficult as they would impact approximately 223 salaried and hourly employees at the Battle Creek plant.

The union in Battle Creek will have the opportunity to study the pending decision and provide input before a decision is finalized. We expect that this process will take approximately 60 days. If the decision is finalized, the changes would begin in Q1 2018 and we anticipate completion by the end of next year.

We considered other options across the network to achieve our objectives of addressing both cost and capacity concerns. None were viable alternatives but we are open to discussions with community leaders in Battle Creek.

If the decision is finalized, we are committed to helping those impacted employees through this process by engaging with the Battle Creek community on potential employment opportunities for displaced workers and providing information and support.

This Announcement comes just 4 days after the company announced a $100,000 donation to Hurricane Harvey Relief.


 

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