AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT BORDEN DAIRY COMPANY (05/16/22)

MAY 16, 2022 — PRODUCTION CHANGES AND LAYOFFS

Restructuring continues…

"After a financial and operational review, NDSM Holdings, LLC (a joint venture between New Dairy Opco, LLC and Select Milk Producers, Inc.) informed employees, vendors, and customers this week of its difficult decision to cease operations at its Chemung, IL manufacturing plant and cease fresh fluid milk production at its De Pere, WI manufacturing plant by July 9, 2022."

"Sour cream operations will continue at the De Pere facility. A business office in Franklin Park, IL will also close at that time. This change will impact the production and distribution of various brand-named milk products distributed across Illinois and Wisconsin."

The statement concluded: "NDSM is committed to assisting the affected employees through the transition by offering notification pay and job search assistance."

APRIL 19, 2022 — Original post…

Dallas, Texas-based Borden Dairy Company, a dairy processor and distributor, has announced several restructuring changes in response to a financial and operational review and including the company's withdrawal from the South Carolina retail market, the closure of its processing plant in North Charleston, South Carolina, and the closure of its Miami, Florida processing plant.

It appears that the decisions were the result of a financial and operational review on behalf of Borden's owners, Denver, Colorado-based Capital Peak Partners, and New York-based KKR who acquired Borden Dairy out of bankruptcy in 2020. A major influence was the change in consumer purchasing tastes where milk has given up market share to other beverages.

The closure of the North Charleston plant is scheduled for May 31, 2022, and will impact an unknown number of employees. The closure of the Miami-Dade plant is also scheduled for May 31, 2022, and will impact 154 employees.

According to a company statement, “While the decision was a difficult one, the company has determined that it could no longer support the location’s continued operation."

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 PRARIE FARMS DAIRY

Edwardsville, Illinois-based Prairie Farms Dairy, a dairy coorperative that receives milk from producers and converts it into milk-based products, including cheese, butter, ice cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, various dips, yogurt, and fluid milk, has announced the closing of its Birminham facility located in Homewood, Alabama along with its substations and other facilities located in Birmingham, Montgomery, Smith Station, Tallassee, Troy, Gadsden, Tuscaloosa and Anniston, along with four Georgia substations located in Valdosta, Macon, Tifton, and McDonough.

The closure will affect at least 100 employees commencing July 31, 2021, with a few employees retained until plant closure on August 31, 2021. 31.

Prairie Farms' Homewood plant was acquired in 2020 as part of the Dean Foods Bankruptcy.

The decision appears to be an economic one driven by competition, consumer demand, and transportation costs.

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 GARELICK FARMS (MASSACHUSETTS)

Dallas, Texas-based Dean Foods, one of the largest dairy companies in the world, blindsided approximately 300 employees who will be laid off as the company closes down its Garelick Farms operation in Lynn, Massachusetts. 

Lynn Mayor Thomas McGee responded with outrage, claiming that the city had no warning from Garelick Farms and saying the "lack of communication and commitment to the city is indicative of what's going on in today's corporate culture. “Decisions made focused on the bottom line, without regard to the community, without any outreach to the community they're impacting in a big way."

It is believed that the move to shutdown Garelick is part of the enterprise-wide cost productivity plan highlighted by Dean Food’s CEO Ralph Scozzafava in announcing Dean’s First Quarter (2018) results …

“Our execution in the first quarter was solid and I’m pleased with our overall progress. Our volume and mix were in-line with our expectations and the traction that we’re getting across our enterprise-wide cost productivity plan is ramping up. We took important initial steps to lower our cost base. The initiatives we executed late last year and in the first quarter of 2018 are clearly working as evidenced by the benefits reading through in our results. We will continue to build upon this momentum to deliver on our target of $150 million in incremental run-rate savings by 2020.”

Are you asking yourself, Am I Next?