(Bloomberg) -- Campbell Soup Co. is closing its lone Canadian factory in Toronto and shifting production to three existing facilities in the U.S., the latest symbolic victory for the Trump administration’s effort to bolster domestic manufacturing.
The move will result in 380 job cuts in Canada, with factories in North Carolina, Ohio and Texas picking up the slack, Campbell said Wednesday. But it won’t translate to many new U.S. jobs. Existing workers will handle the increased soup volume, meaning employment gains will be “minimal,” according to a company spokesman.
Campbell, based in Camden, New Jersey, has been cutting costs as it grapples with a prolonged sales slump. Consumers have increasingly turned away from canned soup, often perceived as overly processed. The company, which makes Goldfish crackers, agreed last month to buy chip and pretzel producer Snyder’s-Lance Inc. for about $4.9 billion as salty snacks have shown strong growth.
Campbell is already more U.S.-focused than many food giants, generating more than 80 percent of its revenue in its home country. Chief Executive Officer Denise Morrison was a member of President Trump’s manufacturing council and was present during an early meeting when he complimented the company’s soup. Morrison was later part of an exodus of executives who resigned from the council, which was then disbanded.
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