Hershey Plans to Shed 1,500 Jobs

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STEVE INSKEEP, host:

The business news starts with a bitter round of layoffs.

Many of the people who bring you Hershey bars are going to be out of work. The largest U.S. chocolate maker says it will trim 1,500 jobs. That's more than a tenth of its workforce. It's part of the company's plan to become a leaner, more productive candy company. A leaner candy company - apparently they laid off their sense of irony.

Hershey says it will also close plants in the United States and move some production to Mexico. When the overhaul is complete, officials say production from North America and Canada will make about 80 percent of the company's total, which his down 90 percent.

And official with the Chocolate Workers Union, by the way, says he does not have any details on where the jobs will be cut.

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