PepsiCo to close Chicago bottling plant, impacting 150 workers

PepsiCo said Monday it’s closing a Chicago bottling plant, a shift the Teamsters union says will impact 150 workers.

PepsiCo said the selection was challenging but it described the 60-year-ancient building as a facility with “physical limitations.” The corporation said it would pay workers for the next 60 days even though they won’t be required to work.

Teamsters Local 727, which represents the plant’s workers, said it was informed of the closure early Monday in an email sent by PepsiCo attorneys. The union said PepsiCo violated federal law, which requires employers to provide 60 days’ notice of pending plant closures or mass layoffs at locations with 50 or more employees.

“To lay off over a hundred Teamsters workers with no notice to them or the union, in violation of both our collective bargaining agreement and the law, is about as low as you can get,” John Coli Jr., the secretary-treasurer of Local 727, said in a statement.

Coli said the union negotiated a recent agreement with PepsiCo this summer but wasn’t told about a potential closure. He said the union may receive legal action against the corporation.

PepsiCo said its plans meet “applicable legal requirements” and it will work with the union

“Our top priority is to back our employees during this shift, and our commitment to serve Chicagoland remains powerful,” PepsiCo said in a statement.