Garelick Farms closes Bangor processing plant | News

BANGOR, Maine (NEWS CENTER)--This was the last day on the job for the 35 employees who worked at the Garelick Milk Processing Plant in Bangor.

Dean Foods, Garelick's parent company, decided to shut down dairy operations, citing a need to cut costs to stay competitive.

For the first time in decades Bangor is now without a dairy plant, which means the milk coming from local farms has to travel farther, something that is affecting some farmers both financially and emotionally.

A spokesperson for Garelick Farms parent company in Texas told us that the employees at the plant did have a severance package through their union contract.  35 employees in the processing plant lost their jobs, but another 38 who worked in the distribution side of the plant will stay on. Those employees will be moving into a new facility that Garelick will lease in Bangor.

The processing plant will be put up for sale.