People show up for work on Monday, the plant is closing. It makes you wonder what Pepsico knows about Chicago's future. Or, are thy moving this plant south of our border too.

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By Jasmine Minor and Leah Hope
Monday, October 28, 2024

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Hundreds of PepsiCo workers are being laid off, after the company decided to close the plant in the Back of the Yards neighborhood Monday.

Some workers said they have been with the company for more than 45 years. The workers said they came to work as normal, and were told the plant was closing and to go home.

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Many workers left with tears in their eyes, trying to figure out how they will provide for their families.

"No notice, none of that, blindsided," former PepsiCo truck driver Eric Gadson said.

Gadson had been a PepsiCo truck driver for 21 years, until he was notified when he showed up at work Monday that PepsiCo is permanently closing its 51st Street facility in Chicago, effective immediately.

"I'm the sole provider in my household," Gadson said. "My wife has MS. My daughter's about to go to college next year. So, it's, I can't put into words what I feel right now."

Gadson said he was just nine years away from retirement, but now is forced to start from scratch elsewhere.

PepsiCo Beverages North America said in a statement, "The decision to no longer operate at 51st Street is a difficult one. This is a more than 60-year-old building that has physical limitations. Our top priority is to support our employees during this transition, and our commitment to serve Chicagoland remains strong. Our plans meet applicable legal requirements and we will actively work with Union leadership on the details related to the closure."

A statement from the Teamsters Local 727 union, who represents the workers at the plant, said PepsiCo's late notice is "in violation of the WARN Act, which requires employers with 75 or more full-time employees to provide 60 days advance notice of pending plant closures or mass layoffs," calling the decision, "disgusting and a disgrace."

"I have a daughter in school. I have a house. Come on, just don't do people like that. You all can't do people like that; you're a big company. At least give us a heads up," former machine operator Johnathan Valentine said.

"I've never seen anything like this. A big company acting this way is deplorable," said John Coli, Teamsters Local 727 secretary-treasurer.