Fact check: Nabisco factory shutdowns not related to President Joe Biden, jobs not going to Mexico

The claim: Nabisco is moving jobs to Mexico after Biden’s election

A viral claim falsely links a popular snack brand's closure of two East Coast bakeries with unrelated events in foreign trade and presidential politics. 

“Nabisco closing plants in Georgia and New Jersey moving to Mexico congratulations on electing Biden,” reads a Feb. 7 Facebook post. 

The post accurately reports that Nabisco parent company Mondelēz International is closing two U.S. cookie plants; however, it inaccurately claims jobs will be shipped to Mexico and the decision was related to President Joe Biden’s election. 

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Other posts about the two closings, one in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and one in Atlanta, inaccurately claim jobs will be sent to Mexico, without reference to Biden.

None of the social media users USA TODAY contacted about these posts responded.

Biscuit plants close in New Jersey and Georgia

Mondelēz International was formed in 2012 as a snack subsidiary of Kraft Foods. Its brands include Cadbury, Chips Ahoy!, Oreo, Honey Maid, Ritz, Sour Patch Kids and many others. The company's headquarters are in Chicago, although it has locations in countries across the globe, including Mexico.

The closures will leave 600 people without jobs in Fair Lawn and 400 in Atlanta.  The plant in Fair Lawn opened in 1958, and the Atlanta bakery opened in 1941.

In November, company leadership said it was considering closing the biscuit plants.

Mondelēz International has bakeries in Richmond, Virginia; Portland, Oregon; and around Chicago that will remain open. 

The company announced several manufacturing changes over the past several years. It closed its Philadelphia facility in 2015 and laid off about 600 people in Chicago facilities in 2016. 

The closures may be completed by this summer. 

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Company says jobs won't go to Mexico

When the company announced the closures Feb. 4, employees expressed concerns that jobs were being sent to Mexico. The company promised otherwise in a statement: “No U.S. jobs will go to Mexico related to these two closures and U.S. biscuit production levels will be maintained.”

Laurie Guzzinati, senior director of corporate and government affairs in North America at Mondelēz Global, confirmed to USA TODAY that these closures would not result in jobs being sent to Mexico.

“This is not about Mexico,” she repeatedly said.

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No evidence Biden’s presidency was connected

“Both Fair Lawn and Atlanta are no longer strategic assets from a geographic footprint perspective and both face significant operational challenges, including aging infrastructure and outdated production capabilities, which would have required significant investment to bring them to the modernized state required for the future,” Mondelēz International said in the statement.

In the announcement, Mondelēz said it was focusing “U.S. biscuit operations on strategically-located owned-and-operated bakeries on the East Coast, Midwest and West Coast of the United States – in Richmond, VA, Chicago/Naperville, IL, and Portland, OR.”

Guzzinati confirmed to USA TODAY that Mondelēz’s announcement was not related to the president.

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There is no evidence to suggest Biden’s presidency affected this decision.

Our rating: False

Though Nabisco parent company Mondelēz International announced it will close two biscuit bakeries this year, the company says it is not shipping jobs to Mexico and the decision had nothing to do with President Joe Biden's election. This claim is rated FALSE because it is not supported by our research. 

Our fact check sources:

• Joe Dillard, Feb. 7, Facebook post
• Associated Press, Feb. 6, "Nabisco plant to close, leaving as many as 600 jobless"
• Jeff Mohney, Feb. 6, Facebook post
• USA TODAY, Jan. 3, "Spinoffs to success: These multibillion-dollar US companies didn't exist a decade ago"
• Mondelēz International, accessed Feb. 11, "Our Brands"
• Fox 5 Atlanta,  Feb. 5, "Bakery plant to close in southwest Atlanta after nearly 80 years"
• Patch, Feb. 5, "Nabisco Plant In Fair Lawn To Close In 2021"
• The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 30, 2015,  "Mondelez shuts Northeast Phila. bakery"
• Mondelēz International, Feb. 4, "Mondelēz International to Close Two U.S. Biscuit Bakeries Later this Year"
• Feb. 11 phone interview with Laurie Guzzinati, senior director, corporate and government affairs North America at Mondelēz Global

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