Hershey’s Moves to Mexico
July 9, 2007 by Heather R.
Filed under Chocolate, Chocolate News
On a warm May weekend in this Central Valley town, the irony was thick.
As usual, the annual Chocolate Festival was drawing hordes of fun-seekers. But Hershey Co., Oakdale’s biggest employer and the nation’s biggest candy company, is closing its plant here, eliminating all 575 jobs. The company will open a factory in Monterrey, Mexico, to handle the production.
One man at the festival wore a T-shirt that said on the front: “Where did ‘the great American candy bar’ go?” Asked for the answer, he whirled around to display the back: “Mexico!”
I’m a little late to this news story about Hershey moving one of their plants from Oakdale, California to Mexico, but this weekend was the first time I’d heard about it.
As stated in the article, the move will put almost 600 people out of work. I know, of course, that money is important to any business, that goes without saying, but with the experience I’ve had with companies outsourcing out of country, I can’t say it’s leaving a positive impression. I haven’t had a reason to really research what’s going on with the company — up until a month ago my chocolate concerns stopped at how much I had left on the snack shelf in the cupboard! — but now I’m interested and wondering if Hershey has a real need to be trying to save money or if it’s just a general big-company-moving-to-save-big-bucks situation.
The message board where I found the article was full of people declaring they were going to swear off Hershey’s and while I can’t say for sure that I’m going to be swearing off anything, I have a confession to make: I’m not a big Hershey fan in the first place. Not necessarily of the company, I mean with the chocolate itself. Something changed a few years ago and the chocolate doesn’t taste real to me anymore and the mouth feel is getting waxy. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that too?
The 113-year-old company has described the plant shutdown as part of a “global supply-chain transformation.” Overall, about 3,000 of Hershey’s 13,000 workers will lose their jobs, including as many as 900 in the company’s hometown of Hershey, Pa. By 2010, Hershey says, the moves will save shareholders as much as $190 million annually.
What do you think of Hershey’s move? Will it affect what you buy in the future?
It’s almost 2009 and on the wrapper of a Hershey Bar it’s printed “Made in the USA”.
How can that be? Is this just a simple oversight?
or are they truly that arrogant!
Film USA - did you read over the complete post & comments? Hershey’s has moved SOME production to Mexico but has made statements that the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar will continue to be made in the USA.
Products to be made in Mexico include the York Peppermint Pattie, 5th Avenue, some specialty molded products, Reese’s Select Clusters and likely more sugar-based candies like Twizzlers and Jolly Ranchers (though I’m just guessing on those).
Thanks Cybele for the clarification. So we know the bar is not made in Hershey, PA or Oakdale, CA. However, do you happen to know “exactly” where in the USA it is made? btw Cybele you have a fantastic site!
The classic Hershey Bar is still made in Hershey, PA. I know people who work at the main plant. However my childhood Favorite, the Reese’s Peanut butter Cup is moving to Mexico. I will no longer support non-US Made Hershey products.
** Look very carefully at Hershey wrappers. Some Reese’s Products now say Distributed by Hershey Chocolate Company. They once said Manufactured by Hershey Chocolate Company USA.
I feel all food products should clearly state on the label where they were manufactured.
Film USA - I don’t understand, why do you not think it’s made in Hershey, PA?
The factory is still there and running. (I was just there in October.) Yes they cut jobs. Yes, they’ve outsourced the cacao processing (to make the cocoa liquor - that’s still done in the US by Barry Callebaut) but all the blending of the cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar and milk products is done in the Hershey, PA factory.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and KitKat Bars are all still made in Hershey, PA as well. (But some of the novelty items may not be, check the labels.)
Thanks Cybele, A friend of mine just took the Hershey Tour and mentioned there was no chocolate being made. I now realize that he didn’t get a real “factory” tour like the one I got as a kid many years ago. Thanks Cybele for setting the record straight as you do know your sweets! enjoy
The Hershey Tour is just a ride (kind of like “It’s a Small Chocolate World!”) … no, there’s no real chocolate made there, though they do use real chocolate in parts of the ride displays.
The factory is still going there, and no, I haven’t been in it either since it was closed to the public in the 70s. But there were plenty of workers going in and out as it was shift change and I have friends live and work in the area. If they’re not making Hershey bars in there, they’re putting on a heck of a show.
However, I did find some items in their “factory” store that were made in Mexico, including their giant Hershey’s Kisses … which is really sad. The regular sized Kisses are still made in the US.
(You might want to make that correction on your web page.)
Thanks again Cybele for the clarification, my site has been updated. . . enjoy!
Thanks for the new info on Hershey! However and wherever it is made, unless the chocolate reverts back to the old and very wonderful recipe, I won’t be buying any Hershey products. Still buying See’s and RMCF candies. Good taste and still using delicious recipes. Too bad Hershey had to change the formula. Oh well, guess that’s what they were aiming for when they made all of the changes.
The Oakdale plant used to give full factory tours, you got to see the candies on the assembly lines, etc. It was like the opening credits for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Sadly, they stopped giving tours after Sept 11, and well, I guess its all a moot point now.
BTW, the company that moved into the old Hershey plant in Oakdale, Sconza Candy Co. are awesome people. At least there’s still candy being made in my town
There are many diverse comments here concerning the Hershey Company. I was raised in Hershey, PA in the childrens home started by Mr. Hershey and his wife when they realized they could not have chiuldren. Mr. Hershey saved me from being raised on the streets. When my Father died in 1929, my Mother could not keep six children so she put my two brothers and me in Mr. Hershey’s home for children, now known as The Milton Hershey School.
In 1915 Mrs. Hershey died. In 1916 Mr. Hershey gave his fortune to the childrens home. Before he died, Mr. Hershey set up a Board of Managers . Mr. Hershey’s gift to the school included controlling interest in the chocolate factory and ownership of every thing else he owned in Hershey. The
controlling interest makes the childrens home the largest stockholder in Hershey Company and administered by the Hershey Trust that answers to the Board of Managers.
So, you can see that the Board of Managers has control of every thing Hershey.
Back in 2002 when the chocolate factory was up for sale, guess who wanted it sold ? The Board of Managers wanted it sold, even though the CEO of Hershey Company did not want it sold. So, ask the Chairman of the Board of Managers who wants Hershey chocolate made in Mexico.
losing our jobs , small buisness our way of like to mexico has gone on long enough we have to get out in the street and protest my company close this will lose two hundred employees this year due to imports fom mexico , we are not moving our company down south, but we can not compete anymore with cheap imports from mexico , if you would like to join me and a 1000 other u.s.a. jobless middleclass people that has lost thier jobs to offshore and mexico for a all out march and protest , shutting down the freeway from nogales to tucson please e-mail me at c182310p@yahoo.com WE NEED TO GET THIS DONE IT HAS GONE ON LNG ENOUGH, WE THE PEOPLE CAN SAVE OUR COUNTRY MY GOD BLESS AMERICIA
BY THE WAY JUST FOR PEOPLE THAT DON;T THINK MEXICO IS A THREAT LAST YEAR THEY CROSSED 284 THOUSAND LOADS INTO THE UNITED STATES THREW NOGALES ARIZONA , LOOK AT ALL THOSE LOST U.S. JOBS , MARCH , PROTEST FOR THE WORKING PEOPLE FEB. 12 TH 2009 JACK e-mail c182310p@yahoo.com
Buy MARS instead?
They have plants in Mexico as well…
I don’t know what else is made in Mexico, but given the Mexican propensity for sanitation, I would not knowingly eat any ready to eat food from there.
I find it utterly ironic that companies move to Mexico, or where ever, and then expect Americans to buy their products.
Mars has lots of plants. There are 8 manufacturing plants in the USA. All USA candy is made in the US, with a couple of Canadian exceptions. Plants in other countries make product just for their own areas. Check Mars.com
We have all heard the saying, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall”
I think the move to mexico, is just the thing that will bring Hershey to there knees. It will be like a big flood, people will just stop buying there product! Not just becuase they don’t support the USA, but because the kind of workers they will get. IF ALL THESE MEXICANS ARE RISKING THEIR LIVES TO GET OVER THE BOARDER…What make Hershey think they are getting a better work force? YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. This is a very STUPID move for such a long time successful company. Maybe the CEO should work for a reasonable salary?
I have no doubt, they will lose big time with this move.
D. Sherwood, see my post above and be sure you read it. I explain in it that the CEO of Hershey Chocolate has little or no control over where the chocolate is made. He may recommend where but the Milton Hershey School Board of Managers (BOM)has the final say because the Hershey Trust , which the Board of Managers (BOM)controls, has the controlling stock in Hershey Chocolate. Don’t blame the CEO, just ask the Chairman of the BOM.
I am putting this little fact in my book and asking people not to buy Hershey products. If they don’t want us working for them, I think it’s time to say we don’t want them. I don’t eat their processed food products anyways. Maybe we should all not them. Corporations have one great weakness - money. When you know your adversaries weakness, you have the power to conquer them. Let’s not give these guys any money. Simple. Easy. Eat organic dark chocolate instead. It’s cheaper, better, fewer calories and tastes like a dream.
Way to go Hershey’s I doubt anyone in management cares about the USA or the people who made it an AMERICAN icon.
I will not be giving my kids any Hershey products.
Hershey’s The B. Arnold of candy bars.
boycot Hershey !!!
Wake up America! This is yet, another factory leaving the United States that’s supposed to save the investors money and yet, you won’t see the savings of the candy bar passed on to you. It’s all about profit. If they are going to become a foreign made chocolate treat, then there are other choices of chocolates made by foreigners (not connected with Hershey) that we can buy from. Boycott Hershey America, let them pay for their decision to move it to Mexico.
I work as a retail merchandiser and I found another interesting phenomenon about Hershey’s and I have a theory about that. Although Hershey’s sales are down, due to poor product quality and poor PR, their profits are up. And a previous poster is correct, the savings are not going to the many small businesses who sell the product, nor to the consumer.
Last week I followed behind a Hershey’s merchandiser into a store, he or she had signed the vendor book right before me. I bet the employee 5 bucks that I would find expired Hershey’s candy on the shelf. Lo and behold 12 boxes of expired candy. I find a huge amount of expired Hershey’s every day in my accounts and inform the owners. I believe that Hershey’s is not writing credits for these products because 20-50 dollars per small outlet location in the US would put a dent in their bottom line. I consider this to be a fraud on their stockholders as well as a reprehensible business policy. They want to either go ahead and sell the expired stuff to the consumer (old and new Hershey doesn’t taste that different, all bad) or have the struggling small business owner eat the loss.
The candy company I work for insists that we remove old candy. They would never intentionally leave out an expired product. It could actually cost me my job if I did that.
For those of you who would like to know the code, it looks like this 8A, 9C, ect. the number 8 or 9 is the year. The letter stands for the month A for Jan, B for Feb, etc. These codes are used on both Hershey and Nestle candy. Nestle is also not pulling expired candy and that is from the horses mouth.
Just another reason that Hershey’s sucks.
I think I will go have a Snickers
how greedy can these executives at hershey get. i worked in the chocolate busisness for most my life. i know first hand how much money is made. The president of one of the smaller candy companies in reading once made the comment that oil and chocolate is the best way to make loads of money. He said since there are no oil wells in reading chocolate only makes sense. not only will i refuse to purchase any hershey product,i will also boycott hershey park. you executives at hershey can stick your product up the hershey highway.
I’ve read many new and interesting blogs as of late regarding Hersheys Candy. I vehemently suggest boycotting all Hershey products. If fact I say boycott all products from all companies who have sold us out and moved their operations out of the country. We, as Americans, have a wonderful opportunity to take back our country. Corporations desire ONLY one thing - Money. Let’s not give it to those corporations who are laying us off, moving operations overseas and doing things we don’t feel it right. I’ve talked with many people about exactly this. The American people have so much power if we simply put it to use. Let’s start by not buying any Hershey’s products. I believe we should also not buy any more new vehicles until car manufacturers begin to produce green vehicles freeing us from dependence on oil. Oil = crack. We need other options.
Take care my friends,
King
I was unaware of the closing until it was brought to my attention by another friend of mine who is a chocolate lover as well.
I guess I will have to look at my wrappers more carefully from now on and I will not buy any product that is outsourced.
We have enough people in this country that need jobs.
What ever happened to the Great American Dream, it has all but died.
with the current state of americas depression how can hersey move american jobs to mexico can a corp.be any more unamerican i will never buy another hersy product and call on all real americans to boycott hersey candies and all the hersey subsidaries. i do hope herseys market dries up
Over the years it has been a treat to eat Hershey chocolate. I was shocked and disgusted that Hershey will open a factory in Mexico. What are the trustees thinking about ? If they think that people will still buy their chocolate they are mistaken!! I will not buy any more chocolate iuntil they move back to the good old U.S.A.
We wonder why our country is in the shape it is in ,it is due partly to outsourcing.
Vincent
Kentucky
I live one block from Luden’s which Hershey bought many years ago and changed the 5th Avenue bar totally. A friend of mine has worked for Luden’s forever. She made $18 to $20 an hour depending which department she was in. She was offered a job at the plant in Mexcio at $4.77 an hour. God Bless America!
I too will not buy Hershey products that are outsourced. This was not Milton Hershey’s dream. He built the town on the American Dream which does not include outsourcing. And now York Peppermint patties?
This country is in bad enough shape right now. Milton Hershey would have given people work not taken it away from them. He should only know how his company is getting ruined by “trustees”.
I used to look forward to every October and going to Hershey and buying at least $50.00 worth of candy to give to friends and family.
Not any more.!
We as Americans need to stick together and boycott these companies that take our money out of our pocket, give it to those in Mexico, or overseas anywhere, so they can fatten their corporate wallets.
If corporations would concentrate on “lean manufacturing ” it would keep the AMERICAN workforce WORKING and this country would flourish.
Hi fellow Americans: I hate to hear that ANOTHER American company has pulled up anchor and went South. My wife has always used Hershey’s in all her baking. Since they have left us we will now leave them. Hope you can sell all this product to the South of the Border gang. I intend on making sure that every machine that has their product in it will have a notice of where the product is made. If your leaving us you should be proud to let the consume know that you don’t want to invest in our country or it’s people, but Hershey wants you to buy their product. That seems to be the thought process of companies more money no loyalty to the country that made them what they are. The government will not stop companies from leaving but encourages them with tax breaks, the American CONSUMER has a sword that is pretty darn big. Companies understand inventory. No buy, no make. This is a attitude i have had since 1987 as our company stared shutting down production in the US to send jobs to Mexico. The writing was on the wall even back then. Can we please outsource or congressmen and senators with Mexicans and Chinese. They couldn’t hurt us any worse, but they would work cheaper.
I’m glad to see so many people are FINALLY “getting it”. It does matter that we buy American! Everyone seems so intent that we can all continue to buy products from foreign sources and still maintain our standard of living. We’re all finding out differently. We must support each other. We must call on our Congressional leaders to level the playing field in the arena of global trade. Unfortunately, we’re all learning a painful lesson from our oblivious consumption habits.
On the light side, David West, CEO of Hershey, just got a 6.3M bonus for sending good paying jobs south of the border and reformulating to iconic chocolate bar to resemble the taste of a stick of Crisco. WAKE UP! Corporate GREED is killing the United States! Support your fellow American. Boycott! Boycott! Send a message to the corporate executive pigs of the world.
I HAVE ALREADY STARTED LOOK FOR A DARK CHOCOLATE. I NORMALLY EAT A VERY SMALL AMOUNT ALMOST EVERY DAY IN MY WORK OUT RATHER THAN A POWER BAR, NUTS, CHOCOLATE AND BANANA.
I WILL NO LONGER BUY ANY HERSHEY ITEM.
Everone must boycott these companies when this happens because eventually it will be your company that moves to mexico.
Shareholder profits are important for a business but a paycheck is more important to the families of those that get laid off.
Hershey Candy Company recently closed its plant in Reading, Pa. as well. (May 2009) moving it’s operations to Mexico. Over 300 American workers at Hershey’s Reading plant, lost jobs as Hershey Corporation deserted another United States location.
Personally…I have stopped buying Hershey candy in protest, and never intend to purchase a Hershey candy bar as long as they remain a Mexican company. I’m also concerned about the safety of the ‘food product’ that they produce now out of reach of some FDA guidelines and food production inspections.
If you wish to join the growing boycott of Hershey candies from Mexico…You must check the back of the candy wrapper you are about to purchase. Do not assume that your Snicker bar, or Milky Way is a Mars chocolate company product; Hershey has bought out many of the top candy company names in recent years.
Oh…by the way…don’t forget that for every dollar you spend at Hershey Park, Pa. executives of the Mexican firm will snicker, all the way to the bank…Don’t be a fool…As an American consumer, you ‘do’ have a voice, so use it by not purchasing products from companies who desert America.