a day ago
Johnsonville closes Illinois manufacturing building, nearly 300 lose their jobs
MOMENCE, Ill. (WTVO) — Almost 300 Johnsonville Foods employees lost their jobs when the sausage manufacturer closed one of its Illinois facilities.
For more than 60 years, many people considered the Momence Packing Company a reliable source of income.
Many who gave a large portion of their lives to working in the building are not sure where to turn next.
'It's just very devastating, very heartbroken,' said a 25-year-old veteran at the plant, Lupe Hernandez. 'I've done nothing today but sit at home and feel sorry for myself. What can we do?'
Johnsonville Foods will be providing former employees with pay and benefits for 60 days.
The company explained the reason for closing the facility in a statement:
'We made the difficult decision after evaluating how best to optimize our operations network to address current and future growth. This decision was based on optimizing our operations across our other newer facilities.'
Johnsonville is expected to demolish the building by the end of 2025.
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