As if Texas needed any more bad news.
Fresh off losing a series of factories and hundreds of jobs across the state as the manufacturing sector suffers the effects of the trade war…
And with retail spending in Texas cratering, yielding pretty scary potential outcomes for the rest the country…
Well, Texans could have really used a break and some good news for once. Instead – another plant closing.
More specifically, HelloFresh recently closed its Grand Prairie distribution center and cut around 273 employees in the process.
The closure is part of the company’s effort to consolidate operations in Texas amid continued economic strain. Analysts point to rising transportation costs, supply-chain disruptions, and tariffs on critical inputs as key inputs making it harder for food distributors to keep regional centers open.
Plus, let’s face it – the meal kit industry has been suffering from retention difficulties (customers are fickle and they easily switch from one company to another, which destroys margins), so it’s no surprise that HelloFresh is saving money where it can.
Grand Prairie served as one of HelloFresh’s key hubs for meal-kit fulfillment in Texas. With this site closing, some of its workload will shift to its Irving location (which is HelloFresh’s most technologically advanced location). The move reflects a broader trend in the industry toward centralizing operations in fewer, more automated or efficient sites.
The loss is significant for the local area. Hundreds of workers lose steady employment. Suppliers, transport services, and businesses that depended on the spending of those workers will likely feel the effects.
More broadly, the economic slowdown that’s been impacting food companies all year risks acceleration thanks to the trade war, the multiplying impacts of rising unemployment and underemployment, and of course the ongoing government shutdown.
Put it all together, and it’s an increasingly grim picture for every unemployed worker.
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