Dunkirk’s Wells ice cream location will be making substantial reductions in 2023, the company reported. Photo by M.J. Stafford

DUNKIRK — A major downsizing will be taking place at the Dunkirk Wells ice cream plant at the end of this year.

In a statement released Thursday morning, the company announced it had made the difficult decision to “scale back operations … in 2023 to five production lines. Our intention is to continue our normal operations for the remainder of 2022.”

Currently, the facility is operating close to 20 lines. Employees of the location were apparently given the news on Wednesday.

Before this week, the Dunkirk location had been undergoing a major expansion totaling nearly $90 million. As part of the downsizing, layoffs of up to 250 to 300 workers could be possible.

“Wells Enterprises is always evaluating and evolving our business strategies to ensure the long-term sustainability of our organization and to meet consumer demand for our products,” the company statement noted. “As market trends shift in our industry, we adapt and optimize our operations to ensure continued success of our business. We recently completed a comprehensive review of our manufacturing footprint and our needs to support our overall business strategy.”

In recent months, Wells had been doing major marketing campaigns to find additional employees for the site that included sign-on bonuses. Company officials vowed to work with those who are impacted by the job cuts.

“We are still working through communicating specific details to our employees including the impact and transition plans,” the company said. “Dunkirk remains strategically important for our organization. We are committed to supporting every team member affected by providing transitional benefits and outplacement assistance.”

Wells acquired the facility, formerly Fieldbrook Foods, in 2019. It invested $87 milllion in a project to add manufacturing lines, do other upgrades and create up to 70 new jobs. National Grid announced a $750,000 economic development grant for the project in January 2021.

Wells held an employment fair at the Clarion Hotel in May 2021. Company President and CEO Michael Wells said at the time, “We have more than 700 team members here in Dunkirk and we are looking to add to our ice cream team.”

He added, “We’re committed to being a good employer and community partner, and by offering stable career opportunities and building our relationships with the broader Dunkirk area.”

Dunkirk Mayor Wilfred Rosas expressed disappointment on Thursday afternoon. “I actually was in communication with Mike Wells. We spoke this morning. Basically, he explained to me that Wells Enterprises is always evaluating its strategies. His team told him the products they are doing here can be done at another facility. He said they need to restrategize what they are doing here.”

Rosas said to expect “some layoffs starting in January of 2023. Most of the employees impacted by the layoff will be offered positions in different facilities.”

The mayor added, “I told him I was disappointed. … He said this is not the end, that they’re scaling back a major project.”

Rosas hopes the expansion project “will in due time, will get back on track.” However, it’s not going to happen in 2023, he was flatly told.

“Internally they need to do some regrouping and revamping” when it comes to the project, he said.