Dive Brief:
- The Kellogg Co. plant in Columbus, GA, is still on schedule to shut down by the end of this year and has already begun layoffs.
- Since summer began, the Kellogg plant has laid off more than half of its workforce. Two production lines have already been idled with a third on the way out this week.
- Kellogg is working with the Georgia Department of Labor to help its workforce find other job opportunities, including hosting a private job fair last week.
Dive Insight:
Project K remains underway, which has sealed the fate of this Kellogg plant, but not all plants are as concerned about possible shutdowns. Even though sales for breakfast foods were down on Kellogg's earnings report earlier this month, along with the company's quarterly profits, Kellogg still came to an agreement with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco and Grain Millers union to keep Kellogg's four cereal plants open for the next five years, which saves about 1,300 jobs for now.
Considering cereal's struggles, however, companies have their work cut out for them to keep up with consumer trends.