The Trump effect…

Another company moves production back to the U.S. from a foreign country.

The Campbell Soup Company announced Wednesday that it will shut down its Toronto plant and move operations to its three U.S. factories.

The move will result in nearly 400 lost manufacturing jobs at the plant, which has been in operation since 1931. The Toronto plant will be closed in phases over the next 18 months and production moved to Maxton, N.C.; Napolean, Ohio; and Paris, Texas.

Mark Alexander, the president of Americas Simple Meals and Beverages, Campbell’s parent company, said the closing was “a difficult one” that was “the best course of action for our business.”

“We are operating in an increasingly challenging environment as our industry’s consumer and retail landscapes continue to change dramatically,” he said in a statement.

Ana Dominguez, president of Campbell’s operations in Canada, told the Toronto Star that one reason for the closing is the company has too much soup and not enough customers.

“Simply put, we are in a situation where we can produce a lot more soup than we can sell,” she said. –UPI

 

This news comes on the heels of a major FedEx announcement.

FedEx Committing More Than $3.2 Billion in Wage Increases, Bonuses, Pension Funding and Expanded U.S. Capital Investment Following the Passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

A public notice from FedEx:

January 26, 2018

FedEx Corporation is announcing three major programs today following the recently enacted U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:

Over $200 million in increased compensation, about two-thirds of which will go to hourly team members by advancing 2018 annual pay increases by six months to April 1st from the normal October date. The remainder will fund increases in performance- based incentive plans for salaried personnel.

A voluntary contribution of $1.5 billion to the FedEx pension plan to ensure it remains one of the best funded retirement programs in the country.

Investing $1.5 billion to significantly expand the FedEx Express Indianapolis hub over the next seven years. The Memphis SuperHub will also be modernized and enlarged in a major program the details of which will be announced later this spring.

FedEx believes the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will likely increase GDP and investment in the United States.

The company has made no change to its fiscal 2018 earnings or capital expenditure guidance as issued on December 19, 2017 as a result of these actions.