Posted on 08/06/2014 3:03:23 PM PDT by BenLurkin
CHATSWORTH (CBSLA.com) Hundreds of Angelenos could soon be out of work after Nestlé USA announced it will relocate a Hot Pockets facility in Chatsworth back east.
KNX 1070s Margaret Carrero reports the 184,000-square-foot production facility in the 9600 block of Canoga Avenue has been making the popular snacks since 1988
The Glendale-based Nestlé USA will move the Chatsworth operation to another facility in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, where the company will invest $13 million and hire 150 new employees locally as the operation converts to a round-the-clock schedule, officials announced.
Approximately 360 employees will be impacted by the closure, but Nestle officials say some may be able to relocate to their Kentucky facility where Hot Pockets production will be shifted some time in October.
In a statement, Nestlé USAs Chief Technical Officer Martial Genthon said the decision to consolidate production to one location came after exhaustive analysis.
Unlike other manufacturing facilities we operate in California, the Chatsworth facility presents some challenges to our business needs, said Genthon. While the decision to stop manufacturing Hot Pockets at our California facility is a tough one because it affects 360 of our Nestlé employees, it is the right decision for our business.
Nestlé USA bought the Hot Pockets and Lean Pockets brands in 2002.
Local business owners like Lonell, who has owned a small machine shop in Chatsworth since 2011, said she can understand the move given the city and states high tax rate.
They tax you on the seat you sit in, the computer you use, the machinery you use, then you have to pay tax to keep the machinery and operate it, she said. It just doesnt make any sense.
It was not immediately clear what will happen to the facility once Nestlé USA completes the transition.
Economist William Roberts, director of the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center at Cal State Northridge, told the Daily News that it will not be easy to repurpose the facility or replace the jobs.
There is still a lot of empty space throughout the Valley so its not like there is a lack of places to buy and build something, he said. Ive seen places lie vacant for five or six years.
Pasties?
Yeah but not the twirling kind.
Yes we would. The area of Eastern California I live in, very rural and remote from the rest of state, was once thought to be in Nevada until they surveyed the state line in 1864. Most here wish we were part of Nevada because our culture here is like rural Nevada, not California.
I love pasties - hard to get in Massachusetts.
LOL I alway used to get heartburn bigtime from them but have recently discovered it’s the yummy onion chips that’s causing it, not the sliders. If I order fries, I’m good to go.
I’m surprised that Nestlé USA is headquartered in Glendale. I thought they would’ve moved to Texas.
“I wonder about folks who say they would not eat something or other if they have ever been really, really hungry?”
People who’ve been really hungry in life tend to appreciate good food, but then they also tend to be able to appreciate ANY food.
There are times when a slice of heaven consists of a slice of stale white bread, better still if you can find a slimy little quarter-sized pickle for your “loser sandwich”.
That being said, there are some things I’d really rather never eat again. I’ll go a long ways before I go back down that road. Bad food and bad memories go hand-in-hand, and it still amazes me that I can stomach some of the things that sustained me through bad times.
Hot pockets...cold radical democrats..who wins?
I agree.
There’s a WC 2.4 miles away.
They’re still hot when I sit down at the tv LOL.
Darn things are expensive now though, the cost is far higher proportionally to other regular burgers than it used to be.
I wonder if Kentucky is a right to work ( a non-union) state?
When we lived in CT, Jamaican pastries were great, that were made by a Jamician immigrant. The family from Jamaica has a chain of restaurants featuring them.
You mean all those illegal aliens don’t start businesses and create jobs?
-——The Glendale-based Nestlé USA——
Well, glendale better watch out....... they’ll be outtathere
Michelle Obama, is that you?
We all can't cook up a nutritious meal on our lunch hours.
” According to Gov Jerry Brown Californians dont need jobs, they need more welfare and EBT cards.”
He actually said that??????
I’m surprised they aren’t relocating their whole headquarters to Kentucky.
Look at current pictures of Detroit. That is their future
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