Necco factory shuts down after its sold to unnamed company
According to the Boston Globe, the Necco plant in Revere, Mass. was abruptly shut down late last month after the entity that bought the company at bankruptcy auction in May announced it had sold Necco to another candy manufacturer.
According to the Boston Globe, the Necco plant in Revere, Mass. was abruptly shut down late last month after the entity that bought the company at bankruptcy auction in May announced it had sold Necco to another candy manufacturer. Round Hill Investments LLC, which purchased Necco for $17.3 million at emergency auction in May, confirmed the closure in a statement.
“Round Hill Investments was very excited to acquire Necco’s historic brands and to be part of their national resurgence,” the company said. “After careful engagement and consideration, however, the firm decided to sell the brands to another national confection manufacturer and today announced the closure of the operations in Revere, Massachusetts.”
The abrupt close of the facility was a shock to the approximately 230 people who worked there and expected to have jobs at least until November, when the factory’s lease is set to expire. Instead, according to the Boston Globe, CEO Michael McGee gathered workers on July 24 to discuss severance pay and thank them for their service before telling them not to show up the next day.
Now, according to MassLive, the company is being sued in a class action lawsuit filed by two former employees. The complaint filed in federal court claims that Round Hill failed to give advance warning to its employees of the shutdown, which they say was in direct violation of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The workers are suing for 60 days of back pay, as well as attorneys’ fees and other relief. They claim that Round Hill did not give employees any notice of the shutdown, which was effective immediately.