Lance Inc. announced yesterday that he has made a deal to acquire the Stella D’oro cookie brand, as well as certain physical assets. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and it is expected that the acquisition will close during the fourth quarter.
The company has been riven by a nearly year-long strike, with more than 130 workers having walked off the job after ownership demanded reductions in pay and benefits, saying that without such reductions, the company would not turn a profit.
Lance reportedly was about the buy the company some time ago, but was put off by employee objections on the grounds that it was likely that it would end up with the jobs being moved out of the Bronx, New York, neighborhood, just north of Yankee Stadium, where Stella D’oro has had its headquarters and production facilities.
However, the deal now looks like it is done, and Lance said it would move the plant to Ashland, Ohio.
The company has been riven by a nearly year-long strike, with more than 130 workers having walked off the job after ownership demanded reductions in pay and benefits, saying that without such reductions, the company would not turn a profit.
Lance reportedly was about the buy the company some time ago, but was put off by employee objections on the grounds that it was likely that it would end up with the jobs being moved out of the Bronx, New York, neighborhood, just north of Yankee Stadium, where Stella D’oro has had its headquarters and production facilities.
However, the deal now looks like it is done, and Lance said it would move the plant to Ashland, Ohio.
- KC's View:
- There is almost certainly enough blame to go around, but in some ways this seems like a classic case where bull-headedness on both sides led to an inevitable loss of jobs in the Bronx, which maybe didn’t have to happen.
