A total of 64 jobs will be lost at the Muller Quaker yogurt plant, as one company ends production and another moves to buy the facility.
PepsiCo representatives on Thursday said the company and its German partner are ending production at the plant.
“After determining that the business was not meeting expectations in a competitive and dynamic marketplace, it was mutually agreed by PepsiCo and the Theo Muller Group to be in our best interests to exit the joint venture,” PepsiCo said in a news release.
“We are immensely appreciative of the support we’ve received over the years from the community, our customers and the consumers who purchased our products,” the company continued. “We are also pleased to know that DFA, the nation’s leading milk marketing cooperative … intends to continue to invest in the community and further expand their production and agricultural presence in the state.”
Genesee County Manager Jay Gsell also confirmed Thursday evening the facility is being bought by the Dairy Farmers of America cooperative. Dairy Farmers of America is exploring several milk handling and manufacturing options at the facility.
In the meantime, about 64 of the plant’s 170 jobs are expected to be cut and transition assistance will be offered, according to an Associated Press report.
The $208 million yogurt plant was opened by Germany’s Theo Muller Group and PepsiCo subsidiary Quaker Oats in the spring of 2013 with about $14 million in state tax credits.
The Genesee County Economic Development Center directed media to a public relations company on Thursday, which relayed a statement issued by the organization.
“While we are extremely disappointed about today’s announcement by Muller Quaker Dairy, we are optimistic that the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will continue to play a key role in the agricultural sector in our region, including remaining a major employer,” the document reads.
“The Genesee Agri-Business Park where the facility is located is a community asset and it continues our strategy of building and marketing sites targeting industry clusters.
“Regardless of this announcement, we will continue to enhance the infrastructure at the Ag-Park in our efforts to bring new jobs and investment to Genesee County in the agricultural sector.
“Our immediate focus in the meantime is to do everything we can to assist the impacted employees.”
Batavia Town Supervisor Greg Post said that there are the usual negative comments when something like this happens, but something else always comes along.
He pointed to the closing of Lowe’s home goods store on Veteran Memorial Drive as one example.
The vacated space was later subdivided for Kohl’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods store. The news of Muller Quaker hadn’t been officially confirmed to him, so Post was hesitant to speculate on what a closing may mean.
He was aware there had been “queries about its availability for sale” and said town officials will keep building out the ag park as they get additional interest from other parties.
“We’re waiting to hear how we can help,” he said. “We’re willing to do whatever we can.”
The Muller Quaker plant was the subject of much celebration when it originally opened.
The facility was described as one of the largest yogurt plants in the country. An event later that August was attended by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, along with the chief executive officers of PepsiCo and the Muller Group of Germany.
The factory was itself part of the hotly anticipated Project Wave, which helped make Genesee County the hub of New York’s yogurt manufacturing.
At the time of its opening, the plant was expected to create 186 jobs.
“We value the contributions of all employees and are working hard to minimize job losses as best we can,” PepsiCo officials said in the news release. “We are encouraged to know that Dairy Farmers of America … has expressed interest in hiring several MQD employees. While this decision was difficult, we are committed to be as sensitive and supportive as we can be to help those affected. As is our practice, we will be offering transition assistance to all impacted employees.”
Dairy Farmers of America is a national dairy marketing cooperative that serves and is owned by more than 14,000 dairy farmers, on more than 8,000 farms in 48 states.
The company describes itself on its website as “one of the country’s most-diversified manufacturers of dairy products, food components and ingredients and .. a leader in formulating and packaging shelf-stable dairy products.”
The cooperative has already opened its Craigs Station Creamery operation in York, in partnership with eight dairy farms in Genesee, Wyoming and Livingston counties.
The latter venture celebrated its one-year anniversary back in September, with the $12 million project benefitting from $150,000 in Excelisor tax incentives granted through Empire State Development. It also generated 11 full-time jobs.
Craigs Station Creamery supplies milk for everything from yogurt to gourmet ice cream.
Source: DailyNewsOnline
