Kraft Heinz has announced a planned $114 million investment into an expansion for its Columbia, MO plant, and is asking for a 75 percent property tax break for 10 years to do so.
Dave Griggs, Chairman of the Regional Economic Development Inc. (REDI) Incentive Subcommittee told The Columbia Tribune that Kraft Heinz stands to save $4 million in taxes over the 10-year plan. The taxing entities still would receive about $2 million more than existing tax revenue from Kraft over the decade, the Tribune reports.
The total proposed investment includes a 25,000-square-foot expansion, infrastructure and equipment. The plant, which manufactures Oscar Mayer hot dogs, has been in Columbia for nearly 30 years.
“Our three oldest hot dog production assets in Columbia will be replaced with two new high-speed lines,” said Joyce Hodel, Spokesperson for Kraft Heinz. “We’ll need fewer people to run them.”
Griggs estimates that the increased efficiency from the improvements would reduce employment from about 500 full-time-equivalent positions down to about 350. Kraft Heinz officials claimed during the meetings that the staffing reduction would happen through retirement and attrition, however.
“If this project isn’t approved, Kraft has other options. I don’t view workforce reduction as a positive thing, but… it’s certainly a positive to preserve 350 to 400 jobs,” Griggs told other members of the REDI board.
Griggs says the choice for the board is coming down to either possibly losing a Columbia manufacturing plant that employs hundreds, or to give a corporate giant a tax break to buy new equipment that will eliminate up to 150 jobs.
Stay tuned as we continue to report on Kraft Heinz’s developing expansion plans.
