Panera Bread is closing two more of its fresh dough facilities.
The company last week filed a WARN notice that it plans to close the fresh dough facility in Lenexa, Kansas, in May, laying off 59 workers there. Employers are required to file Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN) at the state level to give at least 60-days notice before a mass layoff or plant closure.
In addition, the company said it filed a WARN notice for a fresh dough facility in Greensboro, N.C., which is scheduled to be shuttered on May 21. That closure will impact about 80 workers.
The move follows the announcement last month that two fresh dough facilities were scheduled for closure in California (Stockton and Ontario), which resulted in 350 layoffs. Another five of the baking facilities closed over the past year, including operations in Texas, Arizona, Georgia, Colorado and Washington state.
The fresh dough facilities have served Panera Bread cafes, making pastries and other menu items. It’s also where Panera's bread dough was traditionally mixed and shaped before being sent to cafes, where the loaves were proofed and baked every morning.
Panera, however, is shifting to an “on-demand” baking model, in which the bread dough is produced by a third-party bakery—using Panera’s recipes—then par-baked and frozen. The bread is then delivered to cafes where it can be baked throughout the day on an as-needed basis.
Panera officials say the on-demand model simplifies operations and allows for bread to be baked throughout the day, ensuring fresh bread at any hour, not just in the morning.
Some, however, argue that Panera is losing focus on quality and the artisanal bread that has been the core of the 2,200-unit bakery-cafe chain’s menu for decades.
Panera officials say they are still learning about the shift to par-baked bread, and haven’t indicated whether more fresh dough facilities will close. After the closures of Lenexa and Greensboro, there will be nine Panera dough facilities remaining in the U.S.
For Panera, it’s the continuation of an ongoing transformation under Luxembourg-based conglomerate JAB Holding, which two years ago said it was preparing the chain to go public with an initial public offering, though it’s not clear whether that is still the plan.
José Alberto Dueñas, CEO of Panera Brands, which includes Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels, stepped down in January. The company has made several board shifts and brought in a slew of new executives in recent months. And last year Panera Bread launched a comprehensive menu overhaul dubbed a “New Era for Panera,” streamlining the menu to focus on core categories like soups, sandwiches and salads.
As it has in the past, Panera officials said they would offer the impacted workers separation pay, access to health coverage, outplacement services and the opportunity to move to other jobs within the company where possible.
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