Nabisco Is Moving to Mexico-Truth! & Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
Nabisco is moving to Mexico.
The Truth:
Nabisco has moved about 600 jobs from the U.S. to Mexico, but the company still produces snacks in the U.S., too.
Mondelez International (Nabisco’s parent company) has announced that half of the 1,200 jobs at a Nabisco bakery in Chicago would be sent to new production lines in Mexico in 2016:
The company decided not to make a $130 million upgrade to the facility, the company’s largest U.S. bakery, which dates to the 1950s, because the three unions that represent workers either did not make a proposal to keep the work or their concession packages were inadequate, said Laurie Guzzinati, a Mondelez spokeswoman.
The layoffs at the plant, at 7300 S. Kedzie Ave., will occur over the next year.
The facility makes BelVita, Mini Chips Ahoy and Cheese Nips, among other products, and those will continue to be made in Chicago on seven production lines that will be upgraded. Nine other lines will shut down, and that work will be transferred to four state-of-the-art production lines in Salinas, Mexico.
In July, Mondelez Interntional told investors that it had completed a $130 million investment in the production line in Salinas, Mexico. The investment was for “four state-of-the-art manufacturing lines” that will be used to make Oreo Cookies:
Today’s announcement follows a process that began in early April, involving discussions with employees’ union representatives from the Chicago plant as well as company due diligence to select between Salinas and Chicago, the two locations which were considered for this investment.
“The Chicago plant has been and will continue to be an important part of the company’s North American biscuit footprint, producing a variety of beloved consumer products,” said Olivier Bouret, Vice President, North America Integrated Supply Chain, Biscuits. “While the new investment will affect approximately 600 positions in Chicago, we’re committed to treating all impacted employees fairly through this difficult time.”
The Chicago plant will continue to be one of Mondelez International’s largest North American manufacturing facilities in terms of headcount, and the company plans to continue to invest in capabilities, technologies and infrastructure upgrades at this facility.
The company also noted that it had made $170 million in recent investments at manufacturing plants around the U.S.
So, it’s true that Nabisco has moved hundreds of jobs to Mexico — but the Nabisco division as a whole has not moved to Mexico.