Kraft Heinz Closing Plant That Makes Grey Poupon in Nov.

A Kraft Heinz Co. factory that produces major brands like Grey Poupon, A1 Steak Sauce, and Tassimo coffee in Upper Macungie Township, PA is set to be shuttered by Nov. 18 this year, numerous media outlets reported Wednesday. 341 positions will be cut as a result of the closure.

“We are committed to making this transition as seamless as possible, and thank our employees for their hard work and commitment to the facility,” Kraft Heinz spokesperson Michael Mullen told the Allentown [PA] Morning Call in an email to the newspaper.

The company announced plans to close the Pennsylvania plant, which has operated as a Kraft facility for 44 years, and six other facilities in North America one year ago, the Morning Call reported. The downsizing move that also included cuts of 2600 jobs.

Job cuts at the facility have been ongoing since July 31, though Mullen told the newspaper that Kraft Heinz put forth “strong incentives” to about a third of the plant’s employees to stay through November.

Production of Tassimo coffee products will shift to a Kraft Heinz plant in Canada, a location closer to its customer base, according to the Morning Call. Grey Poupon production is moving to an existing company facility in Michigan and is anticipated to receive an investment of $17.2 million and add 50 jobs to its payroll. Kraft would not say where manufacturing of A1 Steak Sauce was moving to, the paper reported.

“Our decision to consolidate manufacturing across the Kraft Heinz North American network is a critical step in our plan to eliminate excess capacity and reduce operational redundancies for the new combined company,” a statement by Mullen said, according to news organization Lehigh Valley [PA] Live. “This will make Kraft Heinz more globally competitive and accelerate the company’s future growth.”

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