6-30-17 wisconsin oscar mayer plant closing

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The last cold cuts are rolling off the line at the Oscar Mayer facility in Madison, ending nearly 100 years of production at the plant.  The Madison factory closed Thursday. The 72-acre plant was one of seven locations slated for closure when Oscar Mayer’s newly merged parent company, Kraft Heinz, announced restructuring in November 2015.  The Madison facility has been the company’s headquarters since 1957. New products also were developed at the location.  The plant employed as many as 4,000 people at its peak in the 1970s. It had about 1,300 employees in 2013.  A United Food and Commercial Workers Union representative says 30 employees will remain at the facility until the end of July, cleaning the plant and dismantling equipment.