Amy’s Kitchen Closes San Jose Plant

Less than two years after its opening, organic frozen food company Amy’s Kitchen has shut down its production plant in San Jose, California according to multiple reports this week. Paperwork filed with the state indicates that manufacturing operations stopped on July 18, but the factory will not officially cease operations until September 16, eliminating 331 jobs.

Amy’s, based in Petaluma, California, said in the filing that the factory has been losing approximately $1 million each month due to higher input costs for ingredients like sunflower oil, a key input for many of its frozen meals, in addition to the impact of continued supply chain disruptions and shifts in consumer preferences.

The facility was intended to increase production capacity for Amy’s frozen pizzas and meet soaring consumer demand during the pandemic-induced at-home cooking boom. However, as that demand began to slow and the operating environment became increasingly volatile, the company could no longer keep the factory running, citing challenges in securing key pieces of equipment as well as fuel, ingredients and labor, according to the filing.

Last month, workers at the San Jose plant filed nine separate complaints with labor union Unite Here and the National Labor Relations Board accusing management of unjustified coercive and disciplinary actions, among other allegations.

The news also comes on the heels of allegations of unsafe working conditions at its Santa Rosa factory that led to boycotts among its workers and multiple Bay Area grocers pulling Amy’s products from store shelves. The company allegedly installed extreme production quotas (up to 25,716 products during an eight-hour shift), and restrictions on when workers could use the bathroom and take water breaks.

That complaint is still under review, but the Teamsters worker union is calling for Amy’s B Corp status to be revoked. Workers also allege they were disciplined for reporting when they were injured on the job.