National Food Chain To Lay Off 92 Employees, Close MA Bakery Facility

FRANKLIN, MA — A popular food chain has plans to close a bakery facility in Massachusetts this year.

Panera Bread will lay off 92 employees at its Franklin facility after filing a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice with the state last week. This comes as the company plans to close its facility at 290 Beaver St., the Boston Business Journal first reported.

The layoffs are scheduled to happen between Mar. 25 and Mar. 27, according to the WARN filing.

This is part of a transition away from the company's fresh-dough facilities, which began more than a year ago, the company told Patch.

"Last year, we began a nationwide transition to a new baking model that helps us to have greater availability of the breads our guests love, ensuring quality while allowing us to expand innovation and variety," a Panera spokesperson wrote in a statement to Patch.

There are 54 Panera Bread locations in Massachusetts, including stores in Boston, Braintree, Cambridge and Worcester. The company has not said it plans to close any of those storefronts.

"We deeply value our team members and are committed to supporting them through this transition with resources, career opportunities and guidance," Panera Bread wrote in a statement to Patch.

The news of the closure comes amid other factory closures in the Bay State. A factory in Hyannis that makes the beloved Cape Cod Potato Chips announced last week that it would close in April.

Meanwhile, another Franklin-based facility, Thermo Fisher Scientific, filed a WARN notice last week stating it would close and lay off 103 employees as early as December this year.

See Also:

• Major Luxury Discount Retailer To Close MA Stores
• Hyannis Factory To Close; Cape Cod Chips Soon No Longer Made Here