Pate-Dawson layoffs in February
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on January 24, 2016 1:45 AM
Pate Dawson-Southern Foods' Goldsboro location at 402 Commerce Court will initiate a round of layoffs that will affect 76 employees beginning in February.
The company's Chief Executive Officer, Mac Sullivan, said the number of employees being laid off has been reduced from 92 to 76 since the initial announcement was made in late 2015.
"Some people have been placed elsewhere, and the rest of the business has grown, which has caused us to be able to retain employees we might have initially thought would have had to leave at first," Sullivan said.
The layoff process will happen over a period of time after beginning in February, and will end in March.
Sullivan said employees affected by the layoffs were notified as early as September 2015. After employees were notified, the company began working to place them with other distribution companies, provided career counseling and provided professional development services.
"We've made incredible efforts to help them (the employees) successfully find employment with other companies by networking with other major companies to place the employees elsewhere, or try to find a way to retain them within our company," Sullivan said.
This decision comes because of the fast-food chain restaurant Bojangles opting to terminate its contract with the Goldsboro-based company after a 10-year relationship.
"We took time to meet with every single individual involved in this process," Sullivan said. "We began communicating with employees that would be affected by this the very next day after we knew we would be exiting our relationship with Bojangles."
The contract between the two companies was terminated due to Bojangles' plans for large-scale expansion.
"Bojangles made the decision to have a national distributor because they have plans to grow rapidly," Sullivan said. "Their growth plans are for west Texas. That's what brought about the exit. It wasn't in our best interest to grow towards west Texas."
Pate Dawson-Southern Foods now plans to focus its distribution efforts on full-service and specialty distribution, as opposed to chain distribution.
"Chain distribution is controlled distribution," Sullivan said. "What that means is that as a large chain they control all the products, specifications and what manufacturers they use. With independent (full-service) restaurants, all that becomes our responsibility. We have to understand their needs at a very deep level to get them the best products."
As a result of Bojangles terminating its contract with the 130-year-old food distribution company, there will also be 86 employees laid off at the company's Statesville operation at 195 Business Park Drive.
The Statesville location will become a full-service and specialty distribution center, and the company will continue to operate its processing facility in Greensboro, which processes meat, seafood and cheese.
This new development within the company is not expected to hinder the company's ability to survive, Sullivan said.
"We've been in business for 130 years," Sullivan said. "You have the fourth and fifth generation on the line right now speaking to you, and we are well set up to go into a sixth generation."
The round of layoffs is not something the company takes lightly, either, as Sullivan said the company's primary concern is the welfare of its employees.
"The most difficult thing in this process is how this is going impact people's lives," Sullivan said. "When an event like this happens, we feel it very personally, and we've taken it upon ourselves to help these people find employment."