Bimbo Bakeries USA will close its bakery on Northampton Street in Wilson Borough by the end of the year and eliminate about 78 union jobs, the company said today.
Corporate officials today held a meeting at the Holiday Inn Express in Palmer Township to tell all employees that the bakery, which employs about 200 at 2400 Northampton St., would cease operations by year's end.
In January, Bimbo Bakeries unveiled plans to build a $75 million bakery near Route 100 in the Fogelsville area in Upper Macungie Township. That facility will employ about 150, the company said today.
Officials at the time wouldn’t say what would become of the Easton-area bakery, which was formerly Maier’s and Schaible’s and has been a hub of local employment for decades.
The new plant is being built near the new Ocean Spray bottling plant off Interstate 78 in Lehigh County.
Bimbo Bakeries released a statement on the Easton-area plant's shutdown.
“This was a difficult decision because of the committed team of associates at the Easton bakery,” said Rod Cunha, vice president of manufacturing for Bimbo Bakeries USA. “However, the age of this facility and its landlocked nature makes it incapable of competing effectively in the marketplace.”
An employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the Easton-area plant, which straddles the Wilson-Palmer border, was closed today. Officials at the employee meeting told workers they could take today as a holiday; work at the plant is set to resume at 7 a.m. Tuesday, the employee said.
Some workers in the Easton-area could be transitioned to the new plant once it opens, the company and the worker said.
“We’re being encouraged to apply there, but those jobs are further away and less money,” the employee said. “There are no guarantees and it’s speculated to be nonunion.”
Bimbo spokesman Shane Sumrow said the new Lehigh Valley facility will also be a union bakery.
Said Cunha: “We value our associates and encourage them to apply for jobs at the new Lehigh Valley facility.”
A spokesman for the union -- Local 6 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union -- could not be immediately reached for comment.
Bimbo Bakeries USA bought the former Maier's plant and brand a few years ago. The bakery has roots into the 1880s in Easton.
Schaible's Bakery started operations in Easton in 1884 and moved to 24th and Northampton streets in 1920. The family-owned landmark produced Sunbeam brand bread and was sold to Reading-based Maier's Bakery in 1975.
Bimbo Bakeries, which owns several popular brands, operates about 70 bakeries in the United States and employs more than 27,000 nationwide. It makes Maier's bread and buns in Wilson.
Brands under the Bimbo banner include Entenmann's, Sara Lee, Thomas' and Stroehmann, among others.
Source: LehighValleyLive
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