Oscar Mayer to lay off 19 here
A Kraft Foods layoff being announced Monday will result in 19 employees losing their jobs at Madison-based Oscar Mayer, according to plant officials.
Sydney Lindner, associate director of corporate affairs for Kraft Foods at Oscar Mayer, told The Capital Times that the workforce reduction at Oscar Mayer will be in the office and that hourly plant employees will not be affected.
The reduction is scheduled to take place in November.
With 1,600 employees at the Madison plant, about 1 percent of the workforce here will be affected. Employees will get a severance package and enhanced medical and outplacement assistance.
Navigating through tough economic times is having an effect on Kraft, one of the world's largest food companies, Lindner said.
"Our input costs are at unprecedented levels and show no signs of diminishing," Lindner said. "While Kraft is doing well, we are not where we need to be. We've implemented other cost-saving measures, but at this point, we needed to look at positions as well."
The company, Lindner said, has hired and will continue to hire hourly employees at Oscar Mayer, as the company expands the hot dog and cold cut lines.
Lindner said Oscar Mayer is a key brand for Kraft.
"We are one of the company's more than $1 billion (yearly sales) brands," Lindner said. "Over the past five years we've invested $120 million in the Madison plant. We are committed to the community and remain strong supporters of organizations such as the United Way and Second Harvest."
Kraft has about 41,000 employees in the United States and 7,000 in Canada, according to securities filings at the end of 2007.
The layoffs corporate-wide will affect less than 1 percent of the work force in North America, according to Kraft spokesman Mike Mitchell, as reported on Chicago Public Radio station WBEZ. The company is headquartered in Northfield, Ill.
The layoffs are coming despite Kraft posting one of its best quarters in the second quarter this year, as the company contends with rising foodstuff and energy costs, according to the Associated Press.
Leah L. Jones/Wisconsin State Journal
Nineteen employees in offices at Madison-based Oscar Mayer will be losing their jobs.
