Kraft Foods Group is consolidating its bacon production in the US, with manufacturing of the product at its Kirksville, Missouri, facility to cease by the end of 2015.

The company is moving bacon production to a single site in Coshocton, Ohio. A spokesperson for the group told just-food the move will allow Kraft to “build manufacturing scale” and lower “overhead and total production costs”.

The spokesperson said: “Since Coshocton is already dedicated to bacon and produces about two-thirds of the company’s total bacon volume, it is the most cost-effective site for consolidation. Going forward, this consolidation will make better use of our manufacturing assets and help us build a stronger platform for efficiencies, operational excellence and growth.”

Kraft is investing around US$40m to ramp up production capabilities in Coshocton.

According to local reports, Kraft will eliminate 275 jobs at its Kirksville plant. The company did not confirm the scale of the job losses. However, the spokesperson stressed that the facility would continue to produce ham products.

“This is not a reflection on our Kirksville employees, who have done terrific work. We are committed to treating our employees with respect and we are telling them now to give them time to consider their options.”

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