Kirksville’s Kraft Plant is running behind on its agreements with the city, and has been given a full-year’s delay on hiring more full time employees. The $229 million expansion and Kraft’s agreements with the city were set Feb. 29, 2016, and the project has since encountered delays.
Kraft Heinz had until Nov. 1, 2017 to begin maintaining an agreed figure of 479 full-time employees, according to a piece published in the Kirksville Daily Express on Feb. 8.
Michael Mullen, Kraft Heinz’s Senior Vice President of Corporate and Government Affairs, says by the end of this month Kraft Heinz will have hired 200 new employees — a combination of salaried, hourly and temporary agency employees.
“Furthermore, we are proud of our $250 million investment in Kirksville,” Mullen says. “[It] will completely renovate the existing factory, bring in state-of-the-art food processing equipment and nearly triple the square footage of the facility.”
Those seeking job opportunities might find an opening with the Kraft Heinz plant. A quick search on Jobs.Mo.Gov, a website for seeking employment opportunities in Missouri, has 11 job listings currently posted for the Kraft Heinz plant. The availabilities were posted as early as Jan. 20 of this year, and as recently as Feb. 18. Positions require levels of education ranging from GEDs to bachelor’s degrees.
Assistant City Manager Ashley Young says because the deadlines have been extended, Kraft will not face any penalties for the delays in construction and employment. The project exemption certificate, which was originally assigned to expire this February, was extended to June 30, 2017. The expansion is expected to be completed by that date.