Dive Brief:
- H.J.Heinz Co. announced it would shutter three plants in North America and fire some 1,350 workers -- the latest in a string of cost-cutting moves at the ketchup manufacturer.
- The plants to be shuttered are in Florence, S.C. (200 jobs); Pocatello, Idaho, (410 jobs) and Leamington, Ontario, in Canada, (740 jobs.)
- The company plans to shift production to facilities in five other states and add 470 jobs.
Dive Insight:
Things are happening quickly at Heinz. And no doubt many folks wonder if things are happening too quickly. The company was taken over by a joint venture of 3G Capital and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in June. Since then the new owners have brought in a new CEO, fired roughly 1,200 people, closed a plant in China, grounded the company's corporate jets, and reduced output at a facility in England. All that may be reasonable enough. But earlier reports have also noted a sort of frenzied, cost-cutting that seems petty -- ordering employees to unplug mini fridges and limiting how much printing office staff can do. It reminds us of when the CFO at a publishing company we know refused to buy any more paper ... seemingly unaware of how important paper is at a company in the publishing business. It's enough to make us long for the days when Heinz' key selling point was that it moved slowly.