The Canada-based group reported that operations at the goat cheese production facility in Lancaster will cease by March 2024.
Lancaster Mayor Stuart Harper told the media his community was “blindsided” by last week’s announcement. Prior to the pandemic, Harper said Saputo and the Grant County community were discussing expansion of the plant.
“It was a decision made by a large corporation in Canada,” Harper told NBC15. “This was a main source of living for over 100 people, which is a big deal in a town of 4,000.”
In a news release, Saputo said it expects costs related to the Lancaster facility closure to run about $6 million after taxes.
“The latest series of investments and consolidation activities will strengthen the competitiveness and long-term performance of our cheese operations in our U.S.A. sector, while increasing efficiency and productivity,” said Lino A. Saputo, chair of the board, president and chief executive officer in a statement.
Layoffs begin in Belmont
Saputo began layoffs on Nov. 11, 2023, at its goat cheese facility in Belmont, according to a WARN notice filed earlier in the week with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Nearly 200 employees will be impacted by the closure that was announced last August. The Belmont plant is expected to wind down operations by mid-January.
Production from both shuttered plants will be transferred to the recently converted plant in Reedsburg. Saputo invested $45 million to convert its long-standing mozzarella cheese manufacturing facility in Reedsburg to a goat cheese manufacturing plant to increase capacity, expand the company’s position in growing specialty cheese category and to improve productivity. Saputo officials said current cheese manufacturing at Reedsburg would be transferred to other existing Saputo facilities in the U.S.
The 300 employees from Belmont and Lancaster will be offered severance or the ability to move to other Saputo locations.
It is unclear how the closures will impact dairy goat farmers producing milk for the Belmont and Lancaster plants.
Meanwhile, Saputo Cheese USA Inc. is building a $85 million cheese production, packaging and distribution facility in Franklin, Wisconsin. The new plant is expected to employ 650 workers.
