Campbell's to close down its oldest plant

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SACRAMENTO, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Campbell's Soup Co. said Thursday it would close its Sacramento plant, costing the city 700 full-time jobs.

"It's a tough day in Sacramento for the company and for these employees," said Anthony Sanzio, a company spokesman.

The company has been producing soup at the plant for more than 60 years, making it the company's oldest production facility, the Sacramento Bee reported Thursday.

It was built in 1947. Partly due to its age, however, it is costlier to produce soup at the plant than at other company facilities, the Bee reported.

Production lost at the Sacramento plant will be made up at three other plants, one in Maxton, N.C., one in Napoleon, Ohio, and one in Paris, Texas, the company said.

"Within that plant network we have excess capacity," Sanzio said.

But workers were, in turns, miffed, angry, puzzled and sad, the newspaper said.

"This is devastating. ... A lot of us have been working here a lot of years and are at the age where it is going to be hard to find jobs," said Valerie Starr, an employee who has worked for Campbell's for 13 years.