Nabisco Plant In Fair Lawn To Close In 2021

FAIR LAWN, NJ — Mondelez will shutter the Fair Lawn Nabisco plant by the end of 2021, company officials announced.

Operations at the Fair Lawn site — as well as a site in Atlanta — will end as soon as this summer, senior director of corporate and government affairs North America Laurie Guzzinati told Patch Friday.

One site in Richmond, Virginia, will remain the east coast hub of operations for the brand, and will take over the Oreo production currently being done in Fair Lawn.

Fair Lawn Mayor Kurt Peluso estimates this move will mean unemployment for upwards of 600 people.

The company announced the decision in a news release this week, echoing their sentiment from late 2020 when they hinted that this was coming. Read more: Mondelez In Early Talks To Close Fair Lawn Plant In 2021

Mondelez will consolidate manufacturing operations to three sites across the country in what the company is calling "strategically-located owned-and-operated bakeries."

The company produces a collection of legacy snacking brands as subsidiaries, including Oreo, which is produced in Fair Lawn.

Mondelez officials said the sites in Fair Lawn and Atlanta were no longer considered "strategic assets from a geographic footprint perspective." More than that, the facilities are outdated.

The Fair Lawn facility opened in 1958 and, the company said, faces operational challenges due to aging infrastructure and lagging production capabilities. Rather than spend the "significant" investment to update these facilities, the company believes resources are better spent elsewhere.

Peluso said he and other New Jersey officials including Rep. Josh Gottheimer, NJ-5, and Gov. Phil Murphy made attempts to get the company to reconsider the decision, but to no avail.

"Not happy about this whatsoever, and I don’t like the way they’re doing it" said Gov. Phil Murphy, noting that "hundreds" of union-represented workers will be impacted by the closing.

Peluso said officials will try to maintain a commercial presence in that area, adding that a number of people reached out looking to redevelop the area after news of a potential closing was announced at the end of 2020.

Both Peluso and Murphy said they've had early discussions with employers who are interested in the location.

"The good news is we have a lot of companies kicking the tires on New Jersey right now," said Murphy. The governor said he personally reached out to a CEO who would be a "logical fit" to take over the space.

But most of the mayor's attention centered on the employees who would be out of work.

In a Facebook Live video posted Thursday, Peluso said he felt especially bad for employees who had transferred to the Fair Lawn location after a plant in Philadelphia closed in 2015.

"I just feel so horrible for these employees who are now experiencing two plant shut downs in just a few years," he said.

Company officials acknowledged what this plant closing will inevitably mean for workers, but doubled down on their decision.

"This was not an easy decision to make, but as we continue to strengthen our leadership in snacking and address changing consumer behaviors, we must focus on sites that are best positioned to meet our future needs," said Glen Walter, Executive Vice President and President, North America.

"We understand the impact this will have on our colleagues at these bakeries, many of whom have been with our company for many years, and we will dedicate ourselves to working with the unions and our employees to ensure that they will be cared for and supported through this transition."

Mondelez said salaried employees will receive severance and other benefits, including outplacement services and other transition support. Transition support for hourly employees, including severance and other benefits, will be bargained for with the Unions representing those employees, company officials said.

Peluso said many employees have worked there for decades, and over the course of the past year have still showed up during the coronavirus pandemic.

In more ways than one, then, it'll be the end of an era in Fair Lawn.

"It was really upsetting knowing that smell was no longer going to exist in Fair Lawn," said Peluso.

"That hurts, but what really hurts is 600 people are losing their jobs."

Keep up to date with what's happening in your community by subscribing to your local Patch newsletter here.