It will take a a few months, but its closing.
November 4, 2015
The Honorable Paul Soglin Mayor
21O Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Room 403
Madison, Wisconsin 53703 Dear Mayor Soglin,At 2:30 PM EST today the Kraft Heinz Company will announce changes to our footprint that impact your state. We ask that you treat this information as confidential until that time.
As part of a comprehensive and ongoing process, we have conducted a thorough evaluation of our North American supply chain. Our goal is to maximize efficiencies, improve capacity utilization and leverage our scale, without compromising quality, safety or the consumer experience.
Following an extensive review of the Kraft Heinz North American supply chain footprint, capabilities and capacity utilization, we are announcing as part of a broader North American project, the closure of our factory in Madison with 707 employees. In a staged process over the next 12-24 months, production in this location will shift to other Kraft Heinz factories in North America.
As part of this reorganization, in 2016 Kraft Heinz will move Oscar Mayer and our US Meats Business Unit from Madison, Wisconsin, to our new co-headquarters in downtown Chicago at the Aon Center. Members of the Oscar Mayer Meat Business Unit will have the opportunity to move with the business to Chicago. The move centralizes all our U.S. Business Units to our co-headquarters of Chicago and Pittsburgh, which will drive increased collaboration and efficiency.
We are building a more streamlined manufacturing structure to ensure our operations are as efficient and effective as possible. This will make Kraft Heinz more globally competitive and accelerate the Company’s future growth.
Kraft Heinz fully appreciates and regrets the impact our decision will have on employees, their families and the community in which this facility is located. We made this announcement now to give affected employees as much time as possible to make decisions that are right for themselves and their families.
The Company plans to offer severance benefits, outplacement services and other support to help employees pursue new job opportunities, at the appropriate time. They are being treated with dignity and respect.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx
Abigail P.Blunt
Global Head of Government AffairsTHE KRAFT HEINZ COMPANY, 3 LAKES DRIVE, NORTHFIELD,IL 60093
