Post by Modesto Anarcho on May 1, 2007 18:36:17 GMT -5
Hershey Closing: Oakdale plant to lose 575 jobs
Doors will shut in '08; decision leaves some workers in tears
Loss slams pocketbooks countywide
Decision puts dairies in tough position
Jeff Jardine: Hershey profit-over-people recipe leaves bitter taste
City braces for life without candy plant
Other Big Plant Closures/Layoffs In Area
Q&A
Quick Facts
Chronology
Video: Hershey closing Oakdale plant
Hershey photo gallery
Previous Stories
Hershey will close 2nd plant, ax 260 jobs
Cost-cutting measures take bite from Hershey's profits
Low cost of sugar, labor make Mexico a more attractive option than valley
Bitter or sweet destiny
Rumors rife at candy factory
Hershey's to trim its work force by 1,500
THE BEE
Hershey visitors center and gift shop
THE BEE
By CHRISTINA SALERNO
csalerno@modbee.com
Last Updated: May 1, 2007, 08:29:24 AM PDT
OAKDALE — The Hershey Co. announced Monday it will close its plant here, putting 575 employees out of work and ending more than two months of rumors and speculation.
The chocolate factory will close in January, said John Souza, leader of Teamsters Local 386 in Modesto, which represents Oakdale Hershey workers.
Production lines will be phased out over the next nine months, starting with Hershey's Kisses and Kisses with almonds, which will be shut down July 1.
Hershey's Miniatures and chocolate syrup are to end production in the fall, Souza said. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups will be the last line to leave the Oakdale plant, which was opened in 1965.
A number of employees burst into tears when they were told of the plant closure during an afternoon staff meeting, said Sal Martinez, who has worked at the plant for 26 years.
"I was one of the ones who was expecting it, but there were a lot of people in denial who took it really hard," he said. "There were a lot of people crying. It's shocking. It is so fast."
Hershey spokesman Kirk Saville said the Oakdale plant is operating at less than40 percent of capacity. In the mid-1990s, the plant employed as many as 750 workers.
"Hershey's has been an active and supportive member of the community in Oakdale for many years. But many of our plants are operating at less than half of capacity, and we must make changes in order to be competitive," Saville said.
Saville said the company looked at other alternatives, but none would bring the plant to an adequate production capacity.
Hershey is the largest employer in Oakdale and was a tourist beacon for many years, until public plant tours ended in 2001 in the wake of theSept. 11 terrorist attacks and the increased security that followed.
Souza said the union and company are working on severance packages for employees, with details expected in the next few weeks.
Monday's announcement put to rest rumors that have been circulating throughout the Oakdale plant since Hershey corporate officials announced in February a drastic restructuring plan.
The plan calls for the elimination of one-third of Hershey's North American production lines, and the opening of a plant in Monterrey, Mexico.
The Oakdale plant's production lines will be moved to Mexico and Hershey's East Coast factories, Souza said.
Employees have been in a state of limbo since the February announcement, often putting off major life decisions, said Bobbie Caetano, a longtime Hershey worker.
"There were people who want to buy a house or go on vacation, and they just didn't know if they should postpone it," said Caetano, 58, who had planned to retire last month but decided to wait until she knew the factory's fate.
Now, Caetano said she's glad she waited because she may be able to take a buyout or severance package.
"I'm sad for everyone else. I wanted to get out anyway. But I'm sad for the younger people, the husbands and wives, and the ones who haven't worked anywhere else," she said. "I'm sad for the people who don't know what they are going to do."
Many employees have been waiting for so long to hear news either way that when the announcement finally came, it was almost a relief, Martinez said.
"Everybody was just waiting so long and stressed out," he said.
The quick timeline for the closure came as a surprise to union representatives and employees, Souza said. The first production line scheduled to be eliminated accounts for as much as 30 percent of the candy made at the plant, he said.
"We thought we had a little more time," Souza said. "We had hoped the shutdown wouldn't occur and we could survive."
Several employees said they suspected a closure was imminent because some supervisors have left the plant in recent weeks to take jobs at other manufacturing firms, including E.&J. Gallo Winery in Modesto.
Hershey didn't hire people to fill those positions, workers said, instead bringing back retirees to temporarily fill the slots.
Gallo company spokeswoman Susan Hensley said that "some of our recent hires do include people with Hershey experience."
The company receives hundreds of job applications each week, she said, and some of those applications have been from Hershey workers.
The plant closure is the third such announcement in a little more than a week. Hershey said last week it would shutter plants in Pennsylvania and Connecticut, which together employ about 500 workers.
The candy maker will eliminate 900 of the 3,000 jobs from three plants in its Pennsylvania hometown and will close a factory in Smith Falls, Ontario, Canada, which employs 500 people.
Hershey's new plant in Mexico is expected to handle about 10 percent of its production volume by 2010.
Bee staff writer Ben van der Meer contributed to this report. To
Bee staff writer Christina Salerno can be reached at csalerno@modbee.com or 238-4574.
Doors will shut in '08; decision leaves some workers in tears
Loss slams pocketbooks countywide
Decision puts dairies in tough position
Jeff Jardine: Hershey profit-over-people recipe leaves bitter taste
City braces for life without candy plant
Other Big Plant Closures/Layoffs In Area
Q&A
Quick Facts
Chronology
Video: Hershey closing Oakdale plant
Hershey photo gallery
Previous Stories
Hershey will close 2nd plant, ax 260 jobs
Cost-cutting measures take bite from Hershey's profits
Low cost of sugar, labor make Mexico a more attractive option than valley
Bitter or sweet destiny
Rumors rife at candy factory
Hershey's to trim its work force by 1,500
THE BEE
Hershey visitors center and gift shop
THE BEE
By CHRISTINA SALERNO
csalerno@modbee.com
Last Updated: May 1, 2007, 08:29:24 AM PDT
OAKDALE — The Hershey Co. announced Monday it will close its plant here, putting 575 employees out of work and ending more than two months of rumors and speculation.
The chocolate factory will close in January, said John Souza, leader of Teamsters Local 386 in Modesto, which represents Oakdale Hershey workers.
Production lines will be phased out over the next nine months, starting with Hershey's Kisses and Kisses with almonds, which will be shut down July 1.
Hershey's Miniatures and chocolate syrup are to end production in the fall, Souza said. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups will be the last line to leave the Oakdale plant, which was opened in 1965.
A number of employees burst into tears when they were told of the plant closure during an afternoon staff meeting, said Sal Martinez, who has worked at the plant for 26 years.
"I was one of the ones who was expecting it, but there were a lot of people in denial who took it really hard," he said. "There were a lot of people crying. It's shocking. It is so fast."
Hershey spokesman Kirk Saville said the Oakdale plant is operating at less than40 percent of capacity. In the mid-1990s, the plant employed as many as 750 workers.
"Hershey's has been an active and supportive member of the community in Oakdale for many years. But many of our plants are operating at less than half of capacity, and we must make changes in order to be competitive," Saville said.
Saville said the company looked at other alternatives, but none would bring the plant to an adequate production capacity.
Hershey is the largest employer in Oakdale and was a tourist beacon for many years, until public plant tours ended in 2001 in the wake of theSept. 11 terrorist attacks and the increased security that followed.
Souza said the union and company are working on severance packages for employees, with details expected in the next few weeks.
Monday's announcement put to rest rumors that have been circulating throughout the Oakdale plant since Hershey corporate officials announced in February a drastic restructuring plan.
The plan calls for the elimination of one-third of Hershey's North American production lines, and the opening of a plant in Monterrey, Mexico.
The Oakdale plant's production lines will be moved to Mexico and Hershey's East Coast factories, Souza said.
Employees have been in a state of limbo since the February announcement, often putting off major life decisions, said Bobbie Caetano, a longtime Hershey worker.
"There were people who want to buy a house or go on vacation, and they just didn't know if they should postpone it," said Caetano, 58, who had planned to retire last month but decided to wait until she knew the factory's fate.
Now, Caetano said she's glad she waited because she may be able to take a buyout or severance package.
"I'm sad for everyone else. I wanted to get out anyway. But I'm sad for the younger people, the husbands and wives, and the ones who haven't worked anywhere else," she said. "I'm sad for the people who don't know what they are going to do."
Many employees have been waiting for so long to hear news either way that when the announcement finally came, it was almost a relief, Martinez said.
"Everybody was just waiting so long and stressed out," he said.
The quick timeline for the closure came as a surprise to union representatives and employees, Souza said. The first production line scheduled to be eliminated accounts for as much as 30 percent of the candy made at the plant, he said.
"We thought we had a little more time," Souza said. "We had hoped the shutdown wouldn't occur and we could survive."
Several employees said they suspected a closure was imminent because some supervisors have left the plant in recent weeks to take jobs at other manufacturing firms, including E.&J. Gallo Winery in Modesto.
Hershey didn't hire people to fill those positions, workers said, instead bringing back retirees to temporarily fill the slots.
Gallo company spokeswoman Susan Hensley said that "some of our recent hires do include people with Hershey experience."
The company receives hundreds of job applications each week, she said, and some of those applications have been from Hershey workers.
The plant closure is the third such announcement in a little more than a week. Hershey said last week it would shutter plants in Pennsylvania and Connecticut, which together employ about 500 workers.
The candy maker will eliminate 900 of the 3,000 jobs from three plants in its Pennsylvania hometown and will close a factory in Smith Falls, Ontario, Canada, which employs 500 people.
Hershey's new plant in Mexico is expected to handle about 10 percent of its production volume by 2010.
Bee staff writer Ben van der Meer contributed to this report. To
Bee staff writer Christina Salerno can be reached at csalerno@modbee.com or 238-4574.
