Eight months after PepsiCo relegated a longtime Frito-Lay plant in Southern California to a distribution hub, the food and beverage giant is now reportedly closing the campus entirely — and laying off hundreds of workers.

Frito-Lay halted snacks production at the Rancho Cucamonga plant last summer — one of several closures across the country as PepsiCo dealt with sluggish demand and rising costs — but left its warehouse and distribution operations in place.

Earlier this month, however, the company informed California officials that it would close the warehouse in June and lay off 247 workers, the Los Angeles Times reports. 

#PepsiCo #FritoLay #PlantClosure #ManufacturingNews #FoodIndustry #SupplyChain #Layoffs #CaliforniaJobs #CPGIndustry #DistributionCenter #SnackIndustry #FlaminHot #BusinessNews #IndustrialNews #FactoryClosure

On October 10, 2024, at around 4:23 p.m., some 27,000 pounds of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas were released during a maintenance activity at the PEMEX Deer Park Refinery in Deer Park, Texas. The refinery makes more than a quarter of a million barrels per day of motor fuels, like gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, that are exported to the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America. The toxic release fatally injured a pair of contract workers and injured several others. So, what happened?

Instead of opening a pipe flange on empty piping, contract workers from industrial service company Repcon, Inc. -- which specializes in welding, pipe fabrication, and maintenance -- mistakenly opened identical piping about five feet away that contained hydrogen sulfide gas. The pipe released pressurized hydrogen sulfide gas and fatally injured one of the Repcon workers.

The hydrogen sulfide traveled downwind, where a worker from ISC Constructors, an industrial engineering and construction company, inhaled the toxic hydrogen sulfide and was also fatally injured.

#PEMEX, #DeerParkRefinery, #HydrogenSulfide, #RefinerySafety, #ChemicalSafety, #CSB, #ASME, #IndustrialAccident, #ProcessSafety, #WorkplaceSafety, #OilAndGas, #H2S, #IndustrialMaintenance, #PlantSafety, #SafetyInvestigation

U.S. consumers looking for the least expensive new vehicle option are facing both bad and good news.

The bad news is that the U.S. market no longer has a new vehicle with an average MSRP below $20,000. According to Kelley Blue Book, the all-but-gone Mitsubishi Mirage was the last hope. 

The good news is that the new cheapest car, the Nissan Versa, carries a fairly reasonable MSRP of $22,315. But the other bad news is that the Versa is dead.

As Kelley points out, Nissan reportedly ended production of the Versa in December. Josh Clifton, senior product communications manager for the automaker, revealed to The Drive that the Versa died so Nissan’s product strategy could live.

#CarPrices, #AutoIndustry, #NissanVersa, #MitsubishiMirage, #KelleyBlueBook, #CoxAutomotive, #CarMarket, #NewCars, #AffordableCars, #AutomotiveNews, #CarBuyers, #CompactSUV, #VehicleMSRP, #CarInflation, #AutoTrends

Nearly two years after its workers voted to establish one of the first unions at an auto factory in the South, employees at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have approved their first contract.

The United Auto Workers union announced Thursday that 96% of workers at the Chattanooga plant voted in favor of the deal, which was hashed out over months of often slow-moving talks between the union and the German automaker. It reportedly includes immediate bonuses of more than $6,500, a 20% wage increase over the life of the four-year contract, job security benefits, and cuts of at least 20% in health care premiums.

#Volkswagen, #VWChattanooga, #UAW, #UnionContract, #AutoWorkers, #ManufacturingNews, #LaborNews, #UnionVictory, #CollectiveBargaining, #AutoIndustry, #USManufacturing, #Chattanooga, #TennesseeJobs, #WageIncrease, #JobSecurity, #SouthernManufacturing, #WorkforceNews, #ElectricVehicles, #ID4, #AtlasSUV, #IndustrialNews, #Unionization

Welcome to another episode of Gen Z in Manufacturing, a podcast where I talk to young people about their journeys in manufacturing, how they intend to influence the industry and what they are looking for from an employer.

For this episode, I welcome Colton Harnar, a 29-year-old CNC programmer for SendCutSend, an on-demand, custom sheet metal and CNC machining manufacturing company. 

Harnar has been in the machining industry for 10 years and CNC programming for five years. He started as an entry level CNC operator in a shop at a foundry, gained experience with more involved and complicated setup work and later learned how to program. His current position consists of CNC programming for mainly 5-axis milling machines, implementing and improving processes and dialing in new tools and machines.

In this episode, Harnar discusses:

• (1:05) Why Gen Z’s main priority is not a paycheck
• (5:36) How to make a good impression on young workers
• (10:26) The secret method to retaining employees
• (14:33) What Gen Z will tell their kids about manufacturing as a career

One of the nation’s largest brewers says it expects tariffs on the aluminum used in its cans to dent its profits this year.

Molson Coors said in its latest financial results that an 8.1% jump in its average cost of goods sold in the quarter, in part, reflected increases in the U.S. Midwest aluminum premium, and noted that commodity inflation would continue to affect profitability this year. Company officials estimated at an industry conference Wednesday that aluminum costs would impact profit by about $125 million, Reuters reported.

#MolsonCoors, #AluminumTariffs, #Tariffs, #AluminumPrices, #CommodityInflation, #BeerIndustry, #ManufacturingCosts, #BusinessNews, #CorporateEarnings, #SupplyChain, #Inflation, #USManufacturing, #MetalsMarket, #TradePolicy, #EconomicNews, #BeverageIndustry, #CostOfGoodsSold, #ProfitMargins, #Reuters, #MillerLite, #Peroni, #Vizzy

The State of Texas filed a lawsuit against Darling Ingredients, accusing the company of illegally emitting odors and air contaminants from its rendering facility near Austin, Texas. The complaint noted that the smells can be detected up to 10 miles away, with some described as resembling “boiling blood and death.”

Founded in 1882 and based in Irving, Texas, Darling Ingredients converts materials from animal agriculture and food industries into ingredients for animal and human consumption, crop fertilization and aviation fuel. The company operates over 260 facilities across more than 15 countries.

The facility targeted in the lawsuit processes used cooking grease and chicken byproducts like meat, fat, bone and feathers. The site consists of two buildings: a processing plant and a feather plant.

According to the suit, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has received nearly 1,440 complaints regarding Darling Ingredients’ facility since May 2024, with hundreds coming in the last three months. Reported health effects include nausea, headaches, vomiting and burning throats and eyes. One resident described the smell as “festering dog vomit on fire” and indicated that they would rather smell burning tires.

#DarlingIngredients, #Texas, #EnvironmentalLawsuit, #AirPollution, #TCEQ, #EnvironmentalCompliance, #IndustrialEmissions, #RenderingPlant, #ManufacturingNews, #EnvironmentalNews, #PublicHealth, #HydrogenSulfide, #OdorComplaint, #WasteProcessing, #Agribusiness, #FoodProcessing, #RegulatoryNews, #Sustainability, #IndustrialRegulation, #AustinTexas, #AirQuality, #IndustryNews

Last month, Conn-Selmer – a manufacturer that’s said to be the last to produce brass musical instruments in the United States – announced that it would be closing its plant in Eastlake, Ohio.

And while it’s not exactly an unfamiliar story, this situation has a bit of an interesting twist: the production is reportedly going to a Conn-Selmer plant in China, and the company’s owner, John Paulson, has been an outspoken critic of offshoring.

On the line are 150 union jobs and Conn-Selmer workers, members of UAW Local 2359, are predicted to lose their positions at the end of June. According to the union, they’d planned to bargain a new contract last month when, instead, they were told the plant would close. Leaders called it “a slap in the face.”

A recent report by the BBC cited union workers who claimed Conn-Selmer has had a plan in the works for a while. They said the company opened a new facility in China last year and the Ohio plant’s workload gradually began to shift overseas – even though workers were allegedly told that the China plant would not have an impact on the U.S. factory’s workload.

#ConnSelmer, #ManufacturingNews, #Offshoring, #USManufacturing, #MadeInUSA, #FactoryClosure, #UnionJobs, #UAW, #OhioManufacturing, #BrassInstruments, #MusicIndustry, #JobLoss, #LaborNews, #SupplyChain, #ChinaManufacturing, #IndustrialNews, #AmericanJobs, #EconomicNews, #PlantClosure, #ManufacturingIndustry, #CNBC, #BBCNews

The U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona is filled with all manner of things that can seriously hurt or kill a person. And the U.S. military would really appreciate it if people would stop trespassing there.

The giant desert training facility, which was formed by General George S. Patton during World War II, is used as a test center for just about every piece of equipment used in ground combat. The 1,300-square-mile facility is well marked with warning signs about trespassing but Sgt. Gregory Harper of the YPG Conservation Law Enforcement Agency said that doesn’t always stop hikers and other desert wanderers.

He said, “There are a good handful of people that I run into out there that are genuinely good people. They are cooperative and their intent isn’t bad, but that won’t protect them from the hazards on our ranges.”

Those hazards include environmental factors like desert heat and potentially dangerous wildlife as well as limited infrastructure, making cell calls difficult if trouble arises.

#USArmy, #YumaProvingGround, #MilitaryNews, #DefenseNews, #ArmyTraining, #MilitaryTesting, #UnexplodedOrdnance, #PublicSafety, #DesertHazards, #Arizona, #NationalSecurity, #MilitaryTechnology, #RangeSafety, #Trespassing, #CombatTesting, #Artillery, #MilitaryRange, #LaserTechnology, #DefenseIndustry, #GovernmentNews, #MilitaryWarning

The State of Texas filed a lawsuit against industrial waste recycler Global Fiberglass Solutions for illegally compiling approximately 3,000 wind turbine blades and parts at two disposal sites in Sweetwater, Texas. The lawsuit claims that Global and other entities violated the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act and Texas Water Code.

Court documents state that Global, a Texas corporation with a principal place of business in Washington, is hired by companies to break down, transport and recycle turbine blades. However, the company allegedly failed to properly dispose of the waste and instead created a stockpile of nearly 487,000 cubic yards of solid waste.

#Texas, #WindEnergy, #WindTurbines, #RenewableEnergy, #RecyclingIndustry, #EnvironmentalCompliance, #TCEQ, #SolidWaste, #IndustrialWaste, #Lawsuit, #EnvironmentalLaw, #Sustainability, #EnergyIndustry, #ManufacturingNews, #RegulatoryNews, #CleanEnergy, #WasteManagement, #WaterCode, #GreenEnergy, #EnvironmentalInvestigation, #GlobalFiberglassSolutions