COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) - Campbell’s Soup Co. is closing a snack food plant in Georgia in 2022, laying off 326 people.
New Jersey-based Campbell’s tells WTVM-TV that the closure comes after a review of the snack division’s manufacturing operations. The plant currently makes candy, crackers, cookies, nuts and snack bars.
The plant has operated in Columbus for 94 years, previously under the Snyder’s-Lance and Tom’s names, before Campbell’s bought Snyder’s-Lance in 2018. Campbell’s Snacks Executive Vice President Valerie Oswalt said the plant’s age made it difficult to retrofits. That and reduced consumer demand for its products led to the closure decision.
“That’s one of your cornerstones of Columbus,” said employee Warren Brown Jr. “And to see it no longer being in action, it doesn’t just affect us, it affects the city of Columbus because at night time when you were hungry, you could smell the peanuts baking over there.”
Campbell’s says it is planning on phasing out production of candy under the Lance brand and will shift production of Lance, Emerald and Late July snacks to other plants.
The company says the plant will close in phases. It says employees will receive severance packages, career counseling and transitional support to aid in the finding of new jobs.
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