Johnsonville closes Illinois plant, creates 25 jobs in Sheboygan Falls

75 jobs will be created in Wisconsin with 25 being in Sheboygan County

Johnsonville is headquartered in the Town of Sheboygan Falls and has nearly 4,000 workers. Photo by Asher Heimermann.

JOHNSONVILLE — Earlier this week, Johnsonville Sausage abruptly closed their plant in south suburban Chicago, putting nearly 300 employees out of work.

Johnsonville announced the closure of Momence Packing on Monday, informing employees in person. The plant is located about 70 minutes south of Chicago in Momence, Illinois. "We made the difficult decision after evaluating how best to optimize our operations network to address current and future growth," the company said in a written statement. "This decision was based on optimizing our operations across our other newer facilities." The closing affects 274 employees, which will receive continued pay and benefits for 60 days.

The closure was so sudden that Momence Mayor Charles Steele said he only received a 15 minute heads up from the company, which told him they plan to demolish the plant by the end of the year. The facility was built in 1962 and was purchased by Johnsonville in 1995.

As a result of the closure, Johnsonville is creating 25 jobs at their plants in the Town of Sheboygan Falls. The company is adding a second shift at its plant in Watertown, Wisconsin. Hiring is already underway and will continue into summer.

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