A global food manufacturer is permanently laying off more than 100 employees in the new year at one of its Michigan plants in Mecosta County.
Leprino Foods Company, which calls itself the world’s largest mozzarella cheesemaker, disclosed the layoffs at its plant at 311 N. Sheridan Ave. in Remus through a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act filing to the state earlier this month.
The layoffs come as the cheese maker and global dairy ingredients supplier is winding down its production of mozzarella cheese in Remus and transitioning to a smaller condensed skim milk production, according to the notice.
The company said in the notice that the change is happening after “intense analysis of the business.” A company spokesperson could not be reached for further comment, though executives announced the layoffs earlier this month, according to local media reports.
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The WARN notice states that about 114 workers will be affected. Most of the laid off employees will separate from the company beginning Jan. 2, 2024, though some employees will stay on to assist with the transition and are expected to separate from the company no later than Jan. 13.
Leprino Foods will still employ roughly 20 employees at the facility for the condensed skim milk production, per the notice.
The company does not anticipate resuming mozzarella cheese production at the Remus plant in the future, which is causing the permanent separation for the laid off employees.
According to the notice to state officials, many of the employees at the Remus facility are union workers represented by General Teamsters Local Union No. 406, based in Wyoming outside of Grand Rapids.
The individuals filling the remaining positions for condensed skim milk production will be determined by the union’s collective bargaining agreement and provisions related to seniority and bumping rights. The facility will continue to employ about four non-union employees.
Leprino Foods’ plant in Remus has operated since 1917, formerly as a creamery prior to its current cheese production that takes in nearly 800,000 pounds of milk each day. The mozzarella production had included string cheese for retail and stuffed crust applications, per the company’s website.
Leprino Foods also operates a plant in Allendale at 4700 Rich St. that processes close to 3 million pounds of milk a day.
The company has employed more than 400 people between the two Michigan facilities.
Leprino Foods is headquartered in Denver, Colo., and has supplied cheese to several nationwide pizza restaurant chains and brands, including Little Caesars, Domino’s, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s.
In addition to its ten U.S. locations, Leprino Foods has operations in Brazil, the United Kingdom, China, Singapore, Japan and South Korea.
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Crain’s Grand Rapids Business launched in 2023, bringing together MiBiz, the Grand Rapids Business Journal and Crain Communications to create the top source of business news, analysis and information in West Michigan.
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