This week the J.M. Smucker Company is cutting over 100 jobs at the Corporte Office. How can they truly justify purchasing at 254 million company 2 weeks ago and then elimate over 100 Corporate jobs this week.
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I was employed by Smucker's Memphis. from 1983 to 1978 as Labor Pool (as needed) . They cut jobs. I used to work 3-4 days a week but with cuts I was lucky to work 4-5 days a month but was on call every day.
They claimed they will add a second production line on the east side of the plant. They never did !
The atmosphere was one of s-xual harassment innuendos to which I played dumb and one blatant case of one male asking me to bear his child which I refused .I sought a coworker and confronted the male and the harassment ceased I am, white and most of the employees on the PM Shift were black and as such they resented whites. I finally resigned
You are talking about plant closures and production consolidation for synergies. This is not at all the same, these are corporate jobs they are cutting now. They are using the same consolidation approach for corporate functions and it doesn't work. People will always be uncertain of their future and talent is going to leave. The people that will stay will be overworked and the good ones will leave. Smucker has never been the highest pay employer and corporste is located in a remote location. They have relied on culture and employee satisfaction for retention and recruiting and it is eroding away. The people that will stay in smucker are going to be the undesirables at the lower levels and leadership that didn't come up through the Smucker ranks.
Keep in mind that this is nothing new to the JM Smucker Company - For years they have been about profitability, but aren't most large companies? In 2003 They let go 335 positions as they closed the Watsonville, CA, Woodburn OR and West Fargo, ND plants and moved the Uncrustables operation to Scottsville, KY. They added 150 jobs there so the "net loss" was 185. In 2010 the announced they were building a new building in Orrville and would lay off 700 employees (40%) as the closed down 4 more sites, Memphis TN, St Marie, Quebec, Sherman, TX and Kansas City, MO. Like many companies they have expanded their original focus in order to maintain profit and stay alive. They've gone from Apple Butter and Ice Cream toppings, to Coffee and Pet Food.
Smucker is not the family friendly company it has been in years past. It is not all about the bottom line. Congratulations Smucker you are now just like every other manufacturing company in the Fortune 500. Good luck retaining good employees in Orville Ohio. I anticipate a steep decline in performance due to losing good employees to cost cuts and existing employees becoming overworked and under appreciated. So very sad to see what this once great company has become.
This is about Wall Strret results. Earnings per share. They're cutting folks all over the company, not just corporate office in Orville. They're cutting at the plants, San Fracisco, too. They're cutting the REsearch folks who were suppose to be relocating to Ohio in two weeks. Imagine going from moving across country in two weeks to learning you don't have a job anymore. And agree, why buy Wesson and then start chopping heads off your own people? Do you think Paul Smucker would recognize his own company these days? Sure isn't what it used to be. Sad.