Unilever closes Massachusetts ice-cream plant

Unilever North America has announced that it is to close its Massachusetts-based Breyers ice-cream plant in Framingham, incurring 201 job losses.

The company said it plans to shift production to other US plants during the first half of next year as a way to cut its costs.

Director of manufacturing, Unilever Ice-Cream, Steve Rosemary said in a statement: “Unilever continually looks for ways to achieve greater efficiencies across our supply chain network. After a long and careful analysis, we have determined that greater efficiencies can be achieved by shifting production to other company plants in the United States. This decision was a difficult one and in no way reflects the dedication or performance of our Framingham colleagues."

The plant is expected to fully close no later than the second half of 2010.