On the heels of last week’s announcement by Kraft Heinz to close Madison’s Oscar Mayer plant, Mayor Paul Soglin reaffirmed his desire to help the plant’s soon-to-be laid off workers.
Kraft Heinz, the parent company of Oscar Mayer, announced Wednesday it would close seven plants nationwide. The Madison plant, which opened in 1919, houses nearly 1,200 jobs. About 250 corporate officers will transfer to a new headquarters in Chicago, while the other 1,000 salaried employees and workers will be laid off.
Soglin emphasized a healthy state economy as promising for workers.
“Fortunately, Madison is doing quite well. We’re the economic engine that is driving this state,” Soglin said. “We are disproportionately creating high-paying jobs … We are disproportionately providing tax revenues.”
Soglin said he spoke with Gov. Scott Walker over the phone Friday to make sure the Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin has enough resources to help workers find new employment.
“Our common goal is to ensure that the workers at Oscar Mayer and the families of those workers end up with the best results, assurance of as good a job as they have presently,” Soglin said. “That is our primary concern.”
“It could be used for other industrial or manufacturing uses, particularly those that need a lot of water,” Soglin said. “The first and highest use of that site is employment.”
Walker has faced criticism about not reaching out to Kraft Heinz, though officials at Kraft Heinz defended the process.
“The decision to close Madison was based entirely on the need to reduce operational redundancies and eliminate excess capacity,” Michael Mullen, a spokesperson for Kraft Heinz, said in a statement. “We are now working with Wisconsin officials to find a buyer that could potentially keep the Madison facility open.”
