Snack food giant Mondelez International will cut hundreds of jobs in Chicago after electing to upgrade production lines at its new plant in Mexico.
Mondelez, which owns Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers, announced this week that it would spend $130 million to install four state-of-the-art lines in Salinas.
"This new investment is part of our ongoing supply chain reinvention plan, as we implement several initiatives around the world to transform our global manufacturing processes to accelerate growth, reduce costs and improve productivity," said Daniel Myers, Mondelez's executive vice president of integrated supply chain.
Reports in May indicated that hundreds of layoffs would be forthcoming at the bakery on Chicago's South Side. Installing the new lines in Illinois would have resulted in about 300 lost jobs; the decision in favor of Salinas will likely double that total.
Mondelez officials reiterated that the Chicago facility would remain open and said that they plan to invest in upgrades at that bakery in the future.
