Approximately 200 employees will be laid off and Coca-Cola will permanently close its Dunedin facility later this year, per a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice that was uploaded to the Florida Commerce website.
According to the WARN notice, the corporation stated that the plant on San Christopher Drive is anticipated to close on May 31. On April 5, layoffs are anticipated to start.
According to the letter, the 198 impacted employees were notified of the layoffs on February 5. A small number of workers will continue to work for a brief period of time following the plant’s closure in order to “assist with administrative tasks related to the closure of the facility.”
A Coca-Cola representative told WFLA.com in a statement that all plant volume will be moved to a nearby third-party co-packer.
“As announced in early 2020, the Coca-Cola Company will close the Dunedin Plant in Dunedin, Florida and transfer all volume to a local third-party co-packer, Peace River Citrus,” the spokesperson stated. “While these decisions are never made lightly, we believe Peace River has the right capabilities to support production of our brands and will put us in the best position for sustainable long-term growth. The transition will be completed by July 2024.”
