It's no secret that retail chains and restaurants have been struggling recently. Big Lots, Red Lobster, Express, TGI Fridays, Vitamin Shoppe and American Freight are just a few of the many that have declared bankruptcy. The financial issues are affecting other industries as well and a huge snack maker responsible for granola bars, frozen burritos, cereal, crackers and even Cheetos has now also declared bankruptcy.
Hearthside Food Solutions, a contract manufacturer and producer of tons of foods for big brands, filed for Chapter 11 on Friday. The decision came after the company faced allegations of child labor following a New York Times article that alleged migrant children worked in unsafe conditions making Chewy granola bars and packing bags of Lucky Charms and Cheetos at Hearthside's processing plant in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The company responded by stating they never knowingly employed underage labor in their facilities and they have cut ties with third-party staffing agencies.
Hearthside noted that investigations into the company have not resulted in any fines and that they were not the reason for the bankruptcy. Hearthside plans to continue without disruption, restructure their finances and emerge from bankruptcy early next year. CEO Darlene Nicosia said in a statement, "We have taken decisive action across our company to put our past challenges behind us, and are encouraged by the improvement we have already seen."
Hearthside has 12,000 employees across 28 facilities.