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June 25, 2021

Food service operator plans July layoffs; union seeks contract with new provider

PHOTO | File image
By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Food service operator Sodexo has notified the state it plans to eliminate 164 workers starting on July 15 due to losing its contract with Fairfield University.

Sodexo, which is headquartered in France, issued a Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice to the state Department of Labor dated June 18.

The company will provide food services on the university’s campus up until mid-July.

Frontline employees such as cooks and servers will be terminated starting July 15, while management separations are scheduled to happen on or before Aug. 12, according to Curtis Stancil, director of human resources for Sodexo’s university segment, Northeast region.

Jennifer Anderson, the university’s vice president, marketing and communications, said in an emailed statement Friday, “Fairfield University is evaluating food services providers and has no further comment at this time.”

The impacted employees may still be able to retain their jobs, however.

The workers are represented by the union Unite Here, Local 217, based in New Haven.

The union indicated via email Friday that discussions are underway with food service company Aramark for it to hire the employees and assume their union contract.

While Sodexo is headquartered in France, it has a regional office in Waltham, Mass. It provides catering, facilities management, and personal and home services, and has a presence in 64 countries with roughly 420,000 employees worldwide, according to its website.

Fairfield University is a Jesuit University with an enrollment of some 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.

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