Nearly 150 employees in Naugatuck will be losing their jobs after The Dannon Company, LLC -- YoCrunch announced plans to close facilities in town.
According to the state WARN report, 147 Dannon, Yo-Crunch employees will be laid off between December 2018 and March 2019. The parent company, Danone, filed a notice with the state Monday.
“A great company they just expanded here in Naugatuck not too long ago, so it is a bit of a shock,” Ron Pugliese, the president and CEO of Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation, said.
Pugliese told NBC Connecticut he hadn’t spoken with Danone yet but felt the company's decision couldn’t have much to do with the economic environment the town is trying to create.
”Sometimes companies go because the building doesn’t work for them or the lack of transportation, we have everything in that industrial park so I don’t think it’s the problem,” he said.
In a statement, Danone North America said in part:
“We deeply regret the impact this planned closure, targeted for Q1 2019, will have on our employees and our supply partners in the community surrounding this location. We will work diligently to assist them as they look for other employment and customer opportunities both internally and externally.”
Local
“I’m disappointed but I always look to the future and I think we’re going to be OK,” Pugliese said.
