A Kankakee County community is reeling after nearly 300 people were laid off from a meat packing plant this week.
Residents in Momence were left stunned this week after the layoffs were announced at the Johnsonville meat packing plant, with the closure announced Monday.
The community, which is made up of approximately 3,000 residents, already lost nearly a hundred jobs after a factory fire earlier this year, and is now dealing with another blow to their economy.
“I’m not gonna lie. I’m still gonna struggle a little bit,” employee Lupe Hernandez said. “But for those that have young kids and depended on that paycheck every week, it’s very devastating.”
The closing will impact 274 employees, according to a company statement. Those employees will receive pay and benefits for 60 days, and “additional terms” are being worked out, the company said.
“We made the difficult decision after evaluating how best to optimize our operations network to address current and future growth,” the company said. “This decision was based on optimizing our operations across our other newer facilities.”
According to Johnsonville, new jobs will be sent to plants in Sheboygan Falls and Watertown in Wisconsin.
The move follows a February fire at the Glister-Mary Lee Corporation, which raced through the 40,000 square foot facility that produces chocolate and other products. The fire left 70 people out of work and caused millions of dollars in damage to the facility.
Charles Steele, Momence’s mayor, said that the latest closure will have immediate impacts on the community’s economy.
“You want your towns to grow and not shrink and we depend upon everybody that works at these factories to buy homes here, live here, get their goods and services here,” he said.
Ted Petersen, a Momence native who won two Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers, said that the community’s confidence will also be shaken by the news.
“I was in Pittsburgh for 31 years after playing for the Steelers, but what drew me back was the people,” he said. “Then to see something happen to our town, like the latest closures with the chocolate factory and then Momence Packing, it’s tough to see.”
Shannon Anderson, superintendent of schools in Momence, estimates that the closure will cost the community nearly $40,000 in tax revenue every year, which essentially covered a teacher’s salary.
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