OAK BROOK, ILL. — Saying it is “committed to retaining skilled employees familiar with the private label food business,” TreeHouse Foods on Jan. 13 announced it will hire an additional 140 permanent employees from ConAgra, doubling the previously planned Omaha, Neb., employee base. In total, TreeHouse said 9,500 employees, including more than 280 Omaha-based employees, are expected to transition to TreeHouse from ConAgra Private Brands upon the close of the sale in the first quarter of 2016.
In addition to hiring more employees, TreeHouse unveiled plans to open a new office facility in Omaha later this year. The company said site selection is under way, with an exact office location still to be finalized. The new site is expected to support customer service, finance, information technology, research and development, and supply chain functions.
“This will mark TreeHouse’s first office location in Omaha and will allow us to have all of our new Omaha-based employees together in one building,” said Sam K. Reed, chairman and chief executive officer of TreeHouse Foods. “We recognize that customer service and business infrastructure are critical to serve existing customers and to drive the success of the business.
“Our transformational acquisition will establish an industry leader in customer brands and custom products with significant scale, scope and skill and will enable us to extend our reach in the grocery store by over 10 shelf stable and refrigerated food categories. Importantly, the combination will also strengthen our ability to support our customers’ efforts to build their corporate brands and offer consumers the best combination of choice and value. We’re thrilled to welcome all of our new team members from ConAgra Private Brands to the TreeHouse family and look forward to learning from and working with our new colleagues when the transaction is complete.”
TreeHouse Foods in November 2015 entered into an agreement to acquire most of ConAgra Foods’ Private Brands business for approximately $2.7 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2016.
Once the transaction closes, TreeHouse Foods will continue to be headquartered in Oak Brook. In addition to TreeHouse’s current offices, the company will maintain a strong presence in Downers Grove, Ill., and St. Louis, with approximately 150 and 240 employees based in these locations, respectively. The combined company will have more than 50 manufacturing facilities and more than 16,000 employees.
