By Guy Page
99 dairy products processing jobs and 142 health care positions are being eliminated in two unrelated layoffs announced this week.
A statutorily-required WARN notice was filed by Franklin Foods in Enosburg Falls with the State of Vermont’s Department of Labor, announcing that 99 employees – the entire work force – will be laid off on July 31. Enosburg is one of the state’s dairy processing hubs. The company has been in business since 1899.
According to reports by the St. Albans Messenger, The roughly 100 employees at Franklin Foods’ cream cheese plant in Franklin were notified in mid-January that the facility will close July 31, according to Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation Executive Director Tim Smith. Smith said the plant was purchased by a competitor that decided to shut it down, and the Vermont Department of Labor is working with management on the transition.
Franklin Foods, founded in 1899, was acquired by Germany’s Hochland Group in 2017 before being sold to Schreiber Foods in December after Hochland chose to exit the U.S. market, citing a lack of profitability. A sister plant in Arizona also has been closed. The company had reached a settlement with the State of Vermont over alleged violations of its pretreatment permit.
UVMMC announces elimination of 142 positions – UVMMC President Stephen Leffler this week announced to all employees in its network of hospitals and clinics that “the difficult decision to eliminate 142 roles across our health system as part of a broader effort to improve efficiency and affordability.”
Of the 142 ‘roles’, 76 are being eliminated entirely. 66 are being eliminated and new roles are being created to support a redesigned operation model. Workers who lose their ‘roles’ are invited to apply for the new jobs.
“This is all part of a broader effort to address a $100 million financial gap this year and a projected $300+ million financial gap over the next three years,” Leffler said. Most of the reductions are in areas that are not providing direct patient care, “with some targeted clinical changes…we continue to be focused on reducing expenses in areas that are not directly providing patient care.”
Leffler noted that last July, the network eliminated 146 positions. Also, late last year “multiple senior leadership positions were eliminated,” he said.