J.M. Smucker announced Tuesday that it intends to close and sell its Indianapolis Hostess plant in the coming months amid a broader effort focused on “stabilizing” the brand.
The company plans to consolidate the Hostess operations from Indianapolis into other facilities. Smucker hopes to sell the facility by early next year.
“This decision continues the ongoing work to ensure our manufacturing network is optimized to mitigate costs and reduce complexity in support of the execution of our ‘Sweet Baked Snacks’ strategy, which is focused on stabilizing the Hostess business and positioning it for long-term growth,” Judd Freitag, senior vice president and general manager of Pet and Sweet Baked Snacks, said in a statement.
Freitag said that the decision was made “after careful consideration” and that the company would support its Indianapolis employees “through this transition.” Additional details, the company said, would be provided in its forthcoming Q4 earnings report.
Local reports indicated that the move would impact approximately 260 workers at the facility. The plant, located on the city’s east side, began operations as a Wonder Bread bakery in the late 1950s.