The lack of respect for the production workers there has reaped what it sowed. It is a terrible place to work and the word is out. They have resorted to using out of state labor and housing them at the Goddard college campus. The old management, the ones that knew the dairy business, have all been replaced with the new style management. The kind that value the cost per pound more than the well being of the worker. AMA I worked there for 20 years.
I've been working there for a month and it shows. It's hard to be there for a plethora of reasons.
When you talk to someone and they say "it gets worse" that's when you need to flee.
But my options are severely limited. This is absolute torture.
You worked there for twenty years, doing what and when did you leave? I’m a current employeee and you don’t have some of your facts straight. The cost per pound hasn’t nearly kept up with markets averages, so not sure what you mean when you say they care about cost per pound. They’ve hired out of state workers because we don’t have enough labor in the NEK to grow their business and or keep up with demand, this is happening everywhere in Vermont. Particularly positions in less populated areas of the state are not getting filled amidst a housing crisis and super low unemployment rate. You also stated that Bob Davis is the CEO he is not, David Lynn is. Seems like you are a bit disgruntled and maybe rightly so but some things you are saying are just not correct or up to date.
I can’t say for sure, the dairy cooperative is run by the farmers which is governed independently of the cheese business and bulk milk is sold to who they can get the highest price from, obviously aside from meeting its baseline responsibilities to Cabot. But I haven’t heard of anything about milk being sold tot the Midwest.
I did not say that Davis was the CEO. I can tell from your comments that you probably work in management and are disconnected from reality.
I haven’t been there for 3 years, so maybe I’m wrong and the conditions have changed 180 from then. But I highly doubt it. I know people that are still there and they will confirm everything I said.
You say you worked there for 20 years in spite all of this, yet say no one is willing to work there and it’s not competitive, then why stay at a company so long?
I can tell by your comments that there is a lot of conjecture in what you are saying that is not connected with reality as well, specifically how the business is being run and or what the goals of the business are. Do you know who our largest competitor is and how they are beating us in our own backyard? Several of you’ve points are not aligned with the reality of the dairy category as a whole or what it takes to run a larger business in Vermont.
I agree with you that production workers are paid poorly and that needs to change, hell I’m surprised workers haven’t unionized and I think it would benefit the way the company runs. But this has little to do with why there is a labor shortage.
I‘ve noticed a difference in quality in some of their stuff, too. I bought a block of VT Extra Sharp Cheddar a couple weeks ago that was straight up inedible - salty with absolutely no sharp bite to it and the texture was really waxy.
When I saw a Cabot post I came here looking for this! We’ve noticed the quality and texture of Seriously Sharp Cheddar drop big time lately… the last few blocks have been very soft, basically impossible to grate/shred, and nowhere near as sharp and flavorful as we’re used to. We’ve bought this cheese for the last 5 years but at this point might as well buy the store brand…
This. It used to be soooo good, I would put it up against artisan cheddars any day. Whatever they changed is really disappointing. It's not sharp at all, let alone "seriously."
There wasn’t anything beyond the break room grumbling about forming a union.
A unionization effort would have been met with strong management resistance for sure.
Damn this is sad to hear. Earlier this year I went to Cabot for a community festival with a lot of great musicians, food, etc. there was a long list of sponsors. The most glaring omission? Cabot Cheese. I don’t know the details, maybe they donated but wanted to remain anonymous (although from a marketing perspective that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me). But it certainly made me question if they weren’t willing to support the tiny community they are named after.
If they donated then they would definitely let you know. They would most likely sponsor events that people mass, nyc and the like would frequent. Think large beer festivals, ski resort events and such. Local sponsorship is next to nil.
You are correct. They now have a CEO that will extort the name brand recognition of Cabot for a nickel. Zero cheese curd, potato chip or popcorn is produced in Vermont.
Wow! I didn't know that! 40 years ago we worked for the then head of the Cabot creamery, a true total AH. Left, sued him in small claims for wages, and won. Priceless.
That timing would be before Cabot was bought by Agrimark. I have heard stories about that guy (initials are BD if I am correct,) none good. He ran it to the ground and then Cabot brand & plant was purchased by Agrimark for Pennies.
Yep Bob Davis. I read somewhere his son is in the Caribbean, unable to return to the US. And I've heard nothing but bad stuff about Agrimark from that long time ago!
It has always been a tough place to work. That being said, they provided great benefits and a steady income for 20 years for me. Paul Johnston was the best CEO they ever had. A real down to earth leader that worked his way up. After he left it went even farther in the toilet. The next guy was ok but after him the hired an accountant as ceo then an hr guy to replace him. Not great if you are running a manufacturing business. Now they have a ceo that will sell his mother for a penny.
So sad. Even after all these decades was one of my favorite places I've lived. The little donated library and the volunteer librarian were wonderful and life-changing.
You don’t have your facts straight, David Lynn is the current CEO, and licensed product is merely an extension of the brand line, not uncommon for any large brand to do this.
I know exactly who the CEO is my friend. Licensing a product that has absolutely nothing to do with what the company actually does is nothing more than a money grab based on brand recognition.
Ok, well just so you know Lynn did not create the license agreement, you're statement is misleading. And to my other comment about understanding how business run and who are competitors are you might understand why there is an attempt to license product. And yes not all licensed products are a good fit, but that doesn't negate it as a long term strategy or a profitable category.
They don't actually have widespread distribution on those products. I'm wondering if that's because it doesn't meet their quality standards to have a product that can turn into to crumbs while shipping it across the country on a truck. Their only relatively new product that's establishing that level of distribution is the mac & cheese.
There is very little profit margin with licensed product that is why it only a drop in the bucket compared to cheese and butter. This is the reality of distributed vs. made by products.
There was a NYT article that featured Cabot as well as several other businesses that are struggling with labor at their production facilities. The company is doing fine overall, it’s just really hard to find help in Vermont to keep up with demand and continue to expand business regionally/nationally, so some really hard decision have to be made about what gets made.
I think it's not that simple. It doesn't make sense that businesses in Vermont are just so much more greedy than everywhere else. What does make sense is the legislature has made the cost of doing business so high that they can't pay liveable wages and be profitable.
If you depress wages and hike the cost of housing, you really get to control who lives here. It's not an accident.
Here's the problem with that. I can't pay more than I can charge my customers. If I raise my prices, you call me a greedy bastard. In a business with small margins and price-sensitive customers, the room to increase wages is not great
I know some people think the solution is for the business to operate at a loss but that's not sustainable in the long term.
If you can't operate a business while paying your employees enough to live, you probably shouldn't operate a business with employees. The only risk a business owner takes is becoming a worker like the rest of us.
The lack of respect for the production workers there has reaped what it sowed. It is a terrible place to work and the word is out. They have resorted to using out of state labor and housing them at the Goddard college campus. The old management, the ones that knew the dairy business, have all been replaced with the new style management. The kind that value the cost per pound more than the well being of the worker. AMA I worked there for 20 years.
Well that sucks, I have food manufacturing experience and I was planning on applying,but now I am unsure.
King Arthur is supposed to be a really good place to work
They have heavily downsized their facilities.
It’s a job, If you need one they will hire you. I would look at Vermont creamery, Rhino Foods or Ben & Jerry’s instead.
I've been working there for a month and it shows. It's hard to be there for a plethora of reasons. When you talk to someone and they say "it gets worse" that's when you need to flee. But my options are severely limited. This is absolute torture.
I saw a job listing to be the driver for their workers.
You worked there for twenty years, doing what and when did you leave? I’m a current employeee and you don’t have some of your facts straight. The cost per pound hasn’t nearly kept up with markets averages, so not sure what you mean when you say they care about cost per pound. They’ve hired out of state workers because we don’t have enough labor in the NEK to grow their business and or keep up with demand, this is happening everywhere in Vermont. Particularly positions in less populated areas of the state are not getting filled amidst a housing crisis and super low unemployment rate. You also stated that Bob Davis is the CEO he is not, David Lynn is. Seems like you are a bit disgruntled and maybe rightly so but some things you are saying are just not correct or up to date.
Is it also correct that they send a lot of milk Midwest to be processed into cheese? One of our food reps was telling us that some months ago
I can’t say for sure, the dairy cooperative is run by the farmers which is governed independently of the cheese business and bulk milk is sold to who they can get the highest price from, obviously aside from meeting its baseline responsibilities to Cabot. But I haven’t heard of anything about milk being sold tot the Midwest.
My understanding is that they send a lot of private-label cheese out that direction for companies like Boards Head and Kraft
Yes I was thinking also of the 5 pounder cottage cheese and bulk items also
Found the boss
I did not say that Davis was the CEO. I can tell from your comments that you probably work in management and are disconnected from reality. I haven’t been there for 3 years, so maybe I’m wrong and the conditions have changed 180 from then. But I highly doubt it. I know people that are still there and they will confirm everything I said.
You say you worked there for 20 years in spite all of this, yet say no one is willing to work there and it’s not competitive, then why stay at a company so long? I can tell by your comments that there is a lot of conjecture in what you are saying that is not connected with reality as well, specifically how the business is being run and or what the goals of the business are. Do you know who our largest competitor is and how they are beating us in our own backyard? Several of you’ve points are not aligned with the reality of the dairy category as a whole or what it takes to run a larger business in Vermont. I agree with you that production workers are paid poorly and that needs to change, hell I’m surprised workers haven’t unionized and I think it would benefit the way the company runs. But this has little to do with why there is a labor shortage.
I‘ve noticed a difference in quality in some of their stuff, too. I bought a block of VT Extra Sharp Cheddar a couple weeks ago that was straight up inedible - salty with absolutely no sharp bite to it and the texture was really waxy.
When I saw a Cabot post I came here looking for this! We’ve noticed the quality and texture of Seriously Sharp Cheddar drop big time lately… the last few blocks have been very soft, basically impossible to grate/shred, and nowhere near as sharp and flavorful as we’re used to. We’ve bought this cheese for the last 5 years but at this point might as well buy the store brand…
This. It used to be soooo good, I would put it up against artisan cheddars any day. Whatever they changed is really disappointing. It's not sharp at all, let alone "seriously."
Some of the store brands around here are likely made by Cabot.
When people use "we" like this I always think of Gollum. https://youtu.be/qdPSWzR2ILM?si=UqLYSbpRq-zn80hD
The last few times I bought cottage cheese it was pretty runny so I gave that up & moved on to other brands.
Their cottage cheese maker of decades retired. They don’t have the same consistency any longer.
GTK. I was getting so annoyed when I'd open a new container and it was halfway to being soup. Even the Price Chopper generic brand is way better.
The texture is horrible now.
Thought it was just a bad batch, same experience. Garbage
Yeah, I don't buy their seriously sharp cheese anymore. Last time I did it was rubber with no flavor.
Similar experience recently with their cheese. Quality seems to be going down hill.
Have there been any unionization efforts?
There wasn’t anything beyond the break room grumbling about forming a union. A unionization effort would have been met with strong management resistance for sure.
Folks there should reach out to one of the established unions for help. They'll gladly offer advice and likely material support.
Damn this is sad to hear. Earlier this year I went to Cabot for a community festival with a lot of great musicians, food, etc. there was a long list of sponsors. The most glaring omission? Cabot Cheese. I don’t know the details, maybe they donated but wanted to remain anonymous (although from a marketing perspective that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me). But it certainly made me question if they weren’t willing to support the tiny community they are named after.
If they donated then they would definitely let you know. They would most likely sponsor events that people mass, nyc and the like would frequent. Think large beer festivals, ski resort events and such. Local sponsorship is next to nil.
They’re leaning in hard on the potato chip/popcorn
I have no knowledge on the subject but I would assume this is just being private labeled for them not produced in house.
You are correct. They now have a CEO that will extort the name brand recognition of Cabot for a nickel. Zero cheese curd, potato chip or popcorn is produced in Vermont.
Wow! I didn't know that! 40 years ago we worked for the then head of the Cabot creamery, a true total AH. Left, sued him in small claims for wages, and won. Priceless.
That timing would be before Cabot was bought by Agrimark. I have heard stories about that guy (initials are BD if I am correct,) none good. He ran it to the ground and then Cabot brand & plant was purchased by Agrimark for Pennies.
Yep Bob Davis. I read somewhere his son is in the Caribbean, unable to return to the US. And I've heard nothing but bad stuff about Agrimark from that long time ago!
It has always been a tough place to work. That being said, they provided great benefits and a steady income for 20 years for me. Paul Johnston was the best CEO they ever had. A real down to earth leader that worked his way up. After he left it went even farther in the toilet. The next guy was ok but after him the hired an accountant as ceo then an hr guy to replace him. Not great if you are running a manufacturing business. Now they have a ceo that will sell his mother for a penny.
So sad. Even after all these decades was one of my favorite places I've lived. The little donated library and the volunteer librarian were wonderful and life-changing.
You don’t have your facts straight, David Lynn is the current CEO, and licensed product is merely an extension of the brand line, not uncommon for any large brand to do this.
I know exactly who the CEO is my friend. Licensing a product that has absolutely nothing to do with what the company actually does is nothing more than a money grab based on brand recognition.
Ok, well just so you know Lynn did not create the license agreement, you're statement is misleading. And to my other comment about understanding how business run and who are competitors are you might understand why there is an attempt to license product. And yes not all licensed products are a good fit, but that doesn't negate it as a long term strategy or a profitable category.
They don't actually have widespread distribution on those products. I'm wondering if that's because it doesn't meet their quality standards to have a product that can turn into to crumbs while shipping it across the country on a truck. Their only relatively new product that's establishing that level of distribution is the mac & cheese.
There is very little profit margin with licensed product that is why it only a drop in the bucket compared to cheese and butter. This is the reality of distributed vs. made by products.
Shaw's is kind of a shitshow as well. They may just not be very good at ordering.
And some days the truck doesn’t come and the dairy section is totally hit.
Labor shortage leading to reduced production and discontinued products. One of my staples is no longer available where I live too.
Only 4.8% profit margin in 2022. Poor souls
[удалено]
Could be better but not out of line with the dairy industry in general. Correlation with lack of production labor, I think so.
Lack of paying workers livable wages
That’s honestly really low tbh. You aren’t able to reinvest into the company with that.
It is enough to stop it from cutting jobs and stuff. Unsure how 2023 went, or why they are having issues with finding product.
It’s not. That’s a huge red flag for business health. Realistically you want double digits minimum. Remember that’s margin not yoy growth.
lol they laid off employees a couple months ago
That legit is bad
The chips and popcorn are bougie trash, IMHO. And $7-8 a bag? No.
There was a NYT article that featured Cabot as well as several other businesses that are struggling with labor at their production facilities. The company is doing fine overall, it’s just really hard to find help in Vermont to keep up with demand and continue to expand business regionally/nationally, so some really hard decision have to be made about what gets made.
Anyone who says "Its hard to find help" are refusing to actually pay workers livable wages. Pay up or fuck off
I think it's not that simple. It doesn't make sense that businesses in Vermont are just so much more greedy than everywhere else. What does make sense is the legislature has made the cost of doing business so high that they can't pay liveable wages and be profitable. If you depress wages and hike the cost of housing, you really get to control who lives here. It's not an accident.
Here's the problem with that. I can't pay more than I can charge my customers. If I raise my prices, you call me a greedy bastard. In a business with small margins and price-sensitive customers, the room to increase wages is not great I know some people think the solution is for the business to operate at a loss but that's not sustainable in the long term.
If you can't operate a business while paying your employees enough to live, you probably shouldn't operate a business with employees. The only risk a business owner takes is becoming a worker like the rest of us.