There’s a huge shift underway in how Americans eat, with Gen Z leading the charge.
Less highly-processed mass market junk food, more healthy and local stuff.
And while the impacts on restaurants have been extensively documented…with chains declaring bankruptcy amid plummeting sales…
Not to mention a general contraction across soda, with factories closing nationwide…
The junk food recession has also come for chips.
Case in point: Frito-Lay recently closed its plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California, which had previously operated for over 50 years.
The closure happened earlier this summer with minimal warning, and reportedly resulted in 432 layoffs.
While Frito-Lay issued pretty standard anodyne statements about the closure, we can read between the lines to get additional insight.
The key detail is that this factory had been in operation for over five decades. Think about all the advances in automation technology that it wasn’t designed to take advantage of. That means lost efficiencies, and reduced margins.
And with consumer demand for chips falling – Frito-Lay likely needs both to reduce its production capacity and squeeze every bit of efficiency out that it can.
So it’s no surprise that they targeted an older plant for closure – that’s been a bit of a trend lately – but it still stinks for the impacted workers.
If you have words of encouragement or advice to share, please leave a comment! These folks deserve our very best wishes as they embark on their next chapter.
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