A Kraft Heinz plant near Los Angeles, one of seven previously targeted for closure, will now be spared along with about 360 jobs.
The company late last year said that the Fullerton facility, which produces Lunchables packaged meals, would be shuttered as part of a broad restructuring following the merger between Heinz and Kraft.
The Orange County Register, however, reported Tuesday that strong demand for Lunchables prompted the company to reverse course. The plant is one of three in the U.S. that produces Lunchables but the only one dedicated exclusively to that product, the paper noted.
The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, reported that workers represented by Teamsters Local 952 ratified a new contract — featuring wage increases but less favorable health coverage — over the weekend in order to keep the plant open.
"Our membership, many who have worked at the plant for decades, are thrilled to be able to remain employed with Kraft Heinz," Local 952’s Patrick Kelly told the Register.
A second California Kraft Heinz plant — in San Leandro — remains on the chopping block, along with facilities in Madison, Wis., Federalsburg, Md., Lehigh Valley, Pa., Campbell, N.Y., and St. Marys, Ontario.
The closure of those plants would still result in more than 2,000 job losses.
