Sheboygan County-based Johnsonville announced Wednesday it will shutter its Meadowside facility, located on the company’s headquarters campus in Sheboygan County, later this year following its acquisition of Denmark, Wisconsin-based Salm Partners, a manufacturer of fully cooked sausage and hot dogs. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
As part of the acquisition, Johnsonville has acquired two production plants in Denmark, a village in Brown County. The company said Wednesday that all 390 of the workers at its Meadowside plant will have jobs through the end of June.
“Johnsonville anticipates some workforce adjustments as the organization transitions a portion of its ready-to-eat sausage production to Salm throughout 2024,” according to the statement from the company. “Johnsonville plans to close its Meadowside plant in its Sheboygan County network by the end of this year. Its Countryside and Riverside manufacturing facilities remain fully operational.”
The company hopes to keep as many of the 390 affected workers as possible in Sheboygan County and across the company’s other production facilities, said Don Fussner, chief executive officer of Johnsonville. Employees who remain with the company through the end of June will receive a stay-on bonus.
“While this acquisition is key to the long-term success of our ready-to-eat sausage business – and the larger fully cooked sausage category in general – it’s not lost on us how a plant closing is distressing for our members to hear,” said Fussner. “We value their contributions and expertise, and we are working diligently to retain as many of our valued members as we can in other roles here in Sheboygan (County) and across our manufacturing network.”
Following the acquisition, Salm Partners will remain its own entity. The company was previously owned by Chicago-based Entrepreneurial Equity Partners. Salm Partners has been a co-packer for Johnsonville for several years, according to Wednesday’s statement.
