ST. BERNARD, Ohio — Mass layoffs have been announced for employees at the St. Bernard Soap Company, which has been a local manufacturing plant since it was established by Procter & Gamble in 1886.
According to the company's website, the St. Bernard Soap Company employs "over 250 people."
A WARN letter sent to employees, dated Oct. 12 and signed by a manager of human resources at the company, says St. Bernard Soap Company plans to lay off at least 153 of those employees.
Those include 120 union-represented employees and 8 non-represented employees, the letter says.
Terminations will begin December 10, 2023, "or within a 14-day period following that date," reads the letter.
"We expect the terminations to be permanent in nature," the letter continues.
Non-represented employees slated for termination will not be able to bump into other positions, the letter says.
According to the company's website, the St. Bernard Soap Company has continuously produced bar soap on the site for over 125 years. It was first opened by Procter & Gamble in 1886 as a bar soap production site, but over the years bar soap became less popular as liquid body wash grew in popularity, the company's site says.
In light of that, P&G sold the plant in 2003, when it became St. Bernard Soap Company and instead began manufacturing multiple different brands under its roof, instead of just those owned by P&G.
Still, Sean Witt, vice president of the union, said P&G products remained a major part of the St. Bernard Soap Company's offerings — until recently. Witt said the company lost P&G as a client and with them, the company also lost roughly 90% of business it earned from four P&G brands: Oil of Olay, Safeguard, Ivory and Old Spice.
In a statement, a spokesperson for P&G said the company is "consolidating contract manufacturing partners and will continue production at a P&G-owned plant for scale and efficiency."
The spokesperson confirmed the P&G-owned plant is in Boston.
The St. Bernard Soap Company also manufactures Zest and Coast products under the High Ridge brand.
Witt said employees were told the factory doesn't intend to shutter its doors, but the company plans to continue searching for new clients to attract.
