Bard officials confirm plans to shut down Stewartville plant
This is certainly not the way Bard executives wanted things to go down.
The company confirmed to local officials Wednesday night that it will close its plant in Stewartville by 2017. News of the company's exit from southeast Minnesota was first reported Tuesday on the Med City Beat.
According to the source we used for the report, company executives had not planned to make the announcement until next month. That, however, changed quickly once the story started making the rounds on social media.
High-ups from the company were on a plane to Rochester within 24 hours of the story being published. We're told several them had to cut short an annual business retreat in Puerto Rico to come in and address the situation.
The Post-Bulletin reported Thursday morning that State Sen. Carla Nelson, of Rochester, is sending a letter to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development "requesting an early response team to come to Stewartville to work with the Bard employees."
Per our source, about 250 workers will lose their jobs once the plant closes. Company officials were expected to meet with employees on Thursday.
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