Dive Brief:
- General Mills announced it would shut down two more plants as part of its ongoing cost-cutting measures, "Project Century," which the company launched in 2014. General Mills estimates about $81 million in charges for fiscal 2016 related to the factory closings.
- The decision to close General Mills' West Chicago plant, which manufactures cereal, meals, and snack products, is "preliminary," as the company holds ongoing talks with union officials, according to Food Business News. If the closing is made official, it would be completed by mid-2017 and could affect about 500 jobs, making it the largest factory closing yet by number of jobs.
- The company will also close one of its two plants in Joplin, MO, by the end of the year. The Joplin plant manufactures snack products, and its closing would affect about 120 jobs.
Dive Insight:
All the changes stem from changing consumer eating habits the company continues to grapple with.
These are just the latest in a series of factory closings and job cuts as part of Project Century. In January, General Mills announced the closing of a Pillsbury factory in New Albany, IN and another in Ontario, Canada, and these were in addition to previous factory closures in Massachusetts and California.
Another set of cost-cutting initiatives, called "Project Catalyst" has led to the loss of 700 to 800 white-collar jobs intended to lower the company's administrative and overhead costs. If that wasn't enough, General Mills is tightening the belt more, having announced a restructuring plan last month that will include about 675 to 725 jobs cut from its international business.