More than 100 people will be without a job when Whole Foods closes a large baking facility in Wake County because of a drop in demand for gluten-free goods.
The Amazon-owned grocery store chain notified the North Carolina Commerce Department that it plans to close the Whole Foods Market Southern Region Bakehouse on Mar. 8, 2020.
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The Morrisville baking operation employs 102 workers, according to the notification.
"Whole Foods Market was the first grocer to respond to the growing customer demand for gluten-free products when we opened our North Carolina Bakehouse nearly 20 years ago," a Whole Foods Market spokesperson told ABC11's news partners at The News & Observer. "As the number of certified gluten-free suppliers has rapidly expanded over the years, our reliance on the bakehouse has diminished. We are working closely with all impacted Team Members and hope to place them in our nearby locations or in other roles within the company."
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The Commerce Department is also promising to work with company executives to help affected workers.