By Chelsey Dulaney
Post Holdings Inc. said Thursday that it plans to close its
PowerBar manufacturing facility in Boise, Idaho, by July, a move
the packaged-food company said would affect 165 employees and save
it about $4 million a year.
The St. Louis company, known for its Grape-Nuts and Fruity
Pebbles brands, has been trying to diversify its business since its
spinoff from Ralcorp Holdings Inc. in 2012. It bought the PowerBar
sports nutrition business from Nestlé SA last year.
Post's latest decision comes as it has struggled with higher
expenses in recent quarters, on top of the lackluster sales that
have plagued much of the food-and-beverage industry as people opt
for healthier, fresher options.
General Mills Inc. said in January that it was planning to close
two Pillsbury dough factories, adding to the roughly 1,400 job cuts
it had announced last year as it tries to improve profitability.
Kellogg Co., meanwhile, intends to close a snack factory in
Columbus, Ga., by the end of this year, and Coca-Cola Co. has said
it would eliminate 1,600-to-1,800 nonfactory jobs this year in
response to sluggish soda sales.
For its part, Post said the closure would impact 165 employees,
to whom it has offered severance and transition assistance. Post
said it would transfer PowerBar production to third-party
facilities.
Post said the move was necessary to improve PowerBar's
profitability. The company said it will book a $5 million pretax
charge related to the closing, and that it expected to start seeing
the estimated $4 million in savings beginning as early as
October.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at chelsey.dulaney@wsj.com
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