Progresso plant in Vineland shuttered abruptly, union says 300-plus affected

General Mills closed its Progresso soup plant in Vineland without warning on Thursday morning, according to a union representing some 300 employees there.(Editor’s note: This report was updated at 11:20 a.m. and 11:40 a.m. with comments and additional information from General Mills.)

General Mills closed its Progresso soup plant in Vineland without warning on Thursday morning, according to a union representing some 300 employees there.

The company issued a statement Thursday saying it was restructuring its global supply chain, affecting operations in New Jersey, Ohio, Brazil and China.

The statement described “a tentative decision to close its manufacturing facility in Vineland, New Jersey, and transfer production to other U.S. facilities to eliminate excess soup capacity in its North American supply chain.”

General Mills said, “The decision is subject to negotiation with union officials.”

However, UFCW Local 152 responded with a statement of its own Thursday, saying, “The closure came without warning, leaving 300 union members without jobs within two months of ratifying a strong four-year labor agreement with the company.”

“People here are angry, and I don’t blame them,” Brian String, president of the local, said in a prepared statement.

According to General Mills spokesperson Kelsey Roemhildt, employees at the Vineland plant were notified of the tentative decision Thursday morning and sent home for the remainder of the workweek. They will return to the facility Monday.

General Mills said the closure, “if the decision becomes final,” would affect about 370 total workers and be completed by the first quarter of fiscal 2018.

“During fourth months of bargaining, the company never hinted that this plant might close,” String said. “Its negotiators never asked for concessions that our members surely would have granted to keep the plant open. … This is a cruel trick to play on people who have been loyal to their company for many decades.”

General Mills has operated the Vineland plant since 2001, it said.

“We’ve appreciated the long-term support and public partnership we’ve had with Cumberland County,” Roemhildt said. “Unfortunately, business situations have changed, and the tentative decision announced today has to do with our current business environment and excess capacity in our supply chain.”