Sara Lee announces it will close kosher meat processing plant in Chicago

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. Sara Lee has announced that it will close a Chicago-area plant that makes kosher hot dogs and other packaged meats by Jan. 30, 2009. The company said that it plans to sell off the property and decommission the plant’s equipment.

The closure will affect about 185 employees. News that a possible closure would occur at one of Sara Lee’s North American plants was released earlier this year.

“This decision was made after careful consideration of our strategic, long-term plan, which focuses on categories where we have a strategic competitive advantage,” said C.J. Fraleigh, Sara Lee Corp. North America’s chief operating officer. “We value the contributions made by our employees and are working to help them prepare for the future by providing severance and outplacement assistance.”

Sara Lee has more than 44,000 employees at manufacturing sites worldwide.