DECATUR, Ind. — An ice cream producer has notified the state it will close a northeastern Indiana plant by the end of the year, eliminating 156 full-time and 20 temporary jobs.
DFA Dairy Brands Ice Cream plans the first of several job cuts to occur on Sept. 10, the company said in a WARN filing with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires companies planning large firings or layoffs to notify state and local officials at least 60 days in advance.
DFA stands for Dairy Farmers of America, a milk marketing cooperative owned by family farmers. A map on the group’s website shows the cooperative of more than 7,000 family farms includes between 101 and 350 in Indiana, The Journal Gazette reported.
The Decatur plant produces ice cream products for the Mayfield Dairy, Dean’s Country Fresh and Friendly’s brands.
All of the production and the majority of the manufacturing lines will be relocated to other plants, the company said.
DFA President Robin Galloway said the Decatur location wasn’t profitable. The co-op isn’t closing any other production plants.
“Unfortunately, the financial challenges associated with running the facility are just too great,” Galloway said in a statement.
