168 Dr. Praeger's Plant Workers in Elmwood Park Face Job Cuts by December 30 as Production Moves to Kentucky

Dr. Praeger's Sensible Foods is closing its Elmwood Park manufacturing plant, and the company expects to eliminate 168 positions at its Elmwood Park site by Dec. 30 as production shifts to a new facility in Kentucky operated by a manufacturing partner. The same 168 figure and a 12/30/26 effective date appear in the state's own WARN notice list. This guide is written for the people whose jobs are on that list, and for their families. For Metaintro readers, the useful part sits in New Jersey's WARN law, which sets out when it applies, what severance a covered employer owes, what a layoff notice must say and where state help comes from. Here is what the filing shows and what those rules say.

What Did Dr. Praeger's Announce for Its Elmwood Park Plant?

In a statement on October 2, the company said it had informed employees of its decision to permanently close its Elmwood Park, New Jersey, manufacturing facility. The plan is to transition production to a new facility in Kentucky operated by a manufacturing partner.

The company expects the cuts to reach 168 positions at the Elmwood Park site, and production is set to shift from New Jersey to Kentucky early next year. The business first opened in Elmwood Park in 1994.

The brand makes veggie burgers and meat-free burgers, as well as frozen appetizers, snacks and sides. Cardiothoracic surgeons Peter Praeger and Eric Somberg founded the company. U.S. private equity firm Vestar Capital Partners made a majority growth investment in the company in January 2021, and the Praeger and Somberg families kept a significant ownership stake under the deal.

The company said the new manufacturing partnership is meant to provide additional capacity to support expansion and bring new products to market, and that it will continue serving customers, investing in product innovation and pursuing future growth opportunities.

What Does the State's WARN Filing Show?

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development keeps a public 2026 WARN notice archive listing each company, city, month posted, effective date and workforce affected. Dr. Praeger's appears with Elmwood Park as the city, October as the month posted, 12/30/26 as the effective date and 168 workers affected.

Production itself is set to move to Kentucky early next year. Where the Act applies, each worker's written notice must state the date or dates on which the mass layoff or transfer or termination of operations and each termination of employment will occur, so that notice is where to check the date for your own job.

A WARN notice in New Jersey goes to all affected employees, any union representatives, the state labor department and the chief elected official of the local government where the site is located. Employers can also email updates to modify or retract a previously submitted notice.

We know this is difficult news for the employees and families impacted, and we are incredibly grateful for everything our team has contributed to Dr. Praeger’s Sensible Foods LLC over the years, the company said in its statement, according to the NJBIZ report on the closure.

Where Is Production Going, and What Stays in Elmwood Park?

Production is set to move to a new facility in Kentucky operated by a manufacturing partner early next year. The parts of Dr. Praeger's Oct. 2 statement quoted by NJBIZ do not name the partner or the Kentucky town, or say whether any plant roles will be offered there.

The company will remain headquartered in Elmwood Park, and employees who stay with the company will transition to a new Corporate Office in the Elmwood Park area early in 2027.

It is not immediately clear what size workforce Dr. Praeger's will have following the layoffs. On its current careers page, the company lists benefits including medical, dental and vision cover and a 401k with company match.

What Severance Does New Jersey Law Require?

New Jersey's plant closing law is the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act, which the state refers to as its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification law. Several changes to it took effect on April 10th, 2023, including 90 days advance notice and one week of severance pay for each year of service.

The Act's duties apply where a transfer or termination of operations results, during any continuous period of not more than 30 days, in the termination of employment of 50 or more employees, or if an employer conducts a mass layoff. The notice rule is set in the case of an employer who employs 100 or more employees, and the Act defines an establishment as a place of employment which has been operated by an employer for a period longer than three years.

Dr. Praeger's appears in the state's 2026 WARN archive. The rules below describe what the Act requires where it applies.

Where it applies, the severance rule in the text of the New Jersey statute sets out the following, with each link carrying the statute's own words.

• Base severance. The employer shall provide to each employee whose employment is terminated severance pay equal to one week of pay for each full year of employment.
• Short notice. If the employer provides any employee with less than the number of days of notification required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the employer shall provide that employee with an additional four weeks of pay.
• The rate. The rate of severance pay provided by the employer pursuant to this subsection b. shall be the average regular rate of compensation received during the employee’s last three years of employment with the employer or the final regular rate of compensation paid to the employee, whichever rate is higher.
• Earned in full. Severance under this subsection shall be regarded as compensation due to an employee for back pay and losses associated with the termination of the employment relationship, and earned in full upon the termination of the employment relationship, notwithstanding the calculation of the amount of the payment with reference to the employee’s length of service.
• The greater amount. An employer shall provide an employee the severance pay required pursuant to this subsection b. or any severance pay provided by the employer pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or for any other reason, whichever is greater.
• Federal back pay counts. Back pay an employer provides under section 5 of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, because of a violation of section 3 of that act, shall be credited toward meeting the severance pay requirements of the state Act.

For an employer who employs 100 or more employees, notice must go out not less than 90 days, or the period of time required pursuant to the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, whichever is longer, before the first termination of employment occurs.

What Must a New Jersey Layoff Notice Tell Each Worker?

Where the Act applies, the written notice has to include the following, in the words of the New Jersey statute with its cross references left out.

• A statement of the number of employees whose employment will be terminated in connection with the mass layoff or transfer or termination of operations of the establishment, the date or dates on which the mass layoff or transfer or termination of operations and each termination of employment will occur.
• A statement of the reasons for the mass layoff or transfer or termination of operations.
• A statement of any employment available to employees at any other establishment operated by the employer, and information regarding the benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of that employment and the location of the other establishment.
• A statement of any employee rights with respect to wages, severance pay, benefits, pension or other terms of employment as they relate to the termination, including, but not limited to, any rights based on a collective bargaining agreement or other existing employer policy.
• A disclosure of the amount of the severance pay which is payable under the severance section of the Act.
• A statement of the employees’ right to receive from the response team information, referral and counseling regarding public programs which may make it possible to delay or prevent the transfer or termination of operations or mass layoff, public programs and benefits to assist the employees, and employee rights based on law.

No waiver of the right to severance provided pursuant to this section shall be effective without approval of the waiver by the commissioner or a court of competent jurisdiction. An aggrieved employee or former employee may initiate suit in Superior Court. If the court finds the employer has violated the Act, it shall award to the aggrieved present or former employees costs of the action, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, and compensatory damages, including lost wages, benefits and other remuneration, and any award of compensatory damages for lost wages shall be limited to the amount of severance pay required under the Act.

The labor department has neither enforcement authority nor rulemaking authority under the Act, and its role is limited to dispatching the rapid response team and making available to employers the form upon which notification shall be provided under the Act.

Who Counts as Laid Off Under the Act?

Part-time employees now have the same protections under the law as full-time employees and should be counted as employees when determining an employer’s WARN obligations.

The Act defines a termination of employment as the layoff of an employee without a commitment to reinstate the employee to his previous employment within six months of the layoff. It shall not mean a voluntary departure or retirement or a discharge or suspension for misconduct of the employee connected with the employment or any layoff of a seasonal employee.

A termination also does not cover a case where an employer offers, at a location inside the State and not more than 50 miles from the previous place of employment, the same employment or a position with equivalent status, benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment.

In addition, a layoff of more than six months which, at its outset, was announced to be a layoff of six months or less, shall not be treated as a termination of employment if the extension beyond six months is caused by business circumstances not reasonably foreseeable at the time of the initial layoff, and notice is given at the time it becomes reasonably foreseeable that the extension beyond six months will be required.

Employers with at least 100 employees have obligations under the State’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) law, according to the Business.NJ.gov update on the law.

When Can Elmwood Park Workers File for Unemployment?

A claim filed while you are still employed full time, even if you anticipate losing your job, is not valid, and you cannot apply for benefits until you become unemployed or your hours are reduced.

Once work stops, you should file immediately after you stop working full-time, even if you are getting severance pay. Severance based on years of service does not extend employment, while salary continuation through termination and payments in lieu of notice do.

Gather the paperwork early. The online claim asks for your Social Security number, pension information if you are receiving any pension or 401k, and the amount and duration of any separation pay, plus details for each employer you worked for in the last 18 months.

Think before cashing out retirement savings. If you are eligible for a pension from a base year employer, your benefits may be reduced, and the term pension includes lump sum payments such as a 401K.

What Help Does New Jersey's Rapid Response Team Offer?

The state's Rapid Response unit assists both employers and workers involved in a closing or permanent mass layoff, on site and at no cost. Covered employers must give the team the on-site work-time access to employees that it determines is necessary. Its services include the following.

• Explanation of Unemployment Insurance benefits and eligibility requirements, and help filing claims.
• Referrals to available jobs, One-Stop Career Center registration, Jersey Job Clubs and resume development help.
• An introduction to state and federal retraining programs available through New Jersey Community Colleges.
• Targeted job fair assistance and help completing registration forms.

Training is part of the state's Title I programs for adults and dislocated workers. A person who has received a layoff notice and is unlikely to return to their previous occupation or industry fits the program's definition of a dislocated worker. To be eligible for the Dislocated Worker Program, a person must have been terminated, laid off, or notified of layoff, must also be eligible for or have exhausted Unemployment Compensation Benefits or has worked long enough to establish an attachment to the Labor Market, and must be unlikely to return to his/her previous occupation or job. Anyone served with WIOA funds must be a United States citizen or authorized to work in the United States, and Military Selective Service registration requirements must be met by male participants. The program also covers people laid off due to employment at a facility at which the employer has made a general announcement that that facility will close. Services can include on-the-job training and customized training, and supportive services such as transportation vouchers or childcare assistance.

One-Stop Career Centers offer career support as a walk-in or by appointment, although all unemployment help at One-Stop Career Centers is still by appointment.

Which Other New Jersey Employers Filed Notices This Fall?

Other employers posted in October include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in Jersey City with 75 workers and Acme Markets Inc. in Hillsdale with 122.

Acme Markets owns Kings Food Markets and plans to close its stores in Hillsdale and the White House Station area of Readington, no later than Jan. 2, 2027. After those closures, there will be 14 Kings Foods Markets in New Jersey. The grocer hopes to place as many associates as possible in other stores.

In September, Novo Nordisk filed for 108 workers in Plainsboro with an effective date of 12/31/26. Notable layoffs announced across New Jersey this year were well above 13,000 by early October in a running tally kept by New Jersey 101.5.

What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

Our take is that New Jersey law sets a severance floor for covered employers, and the written notice is the document to read first. Dr. Praeger's notice carries an effective date of 12/30/26, and for a covered employer New Jersey law ties severance to one week of pay for each full year of employment. The parts of its Oct. 2 statement quoted by NJBIZ do not say whether any plant roles will follow production to Kentucky, so we would plan as if they will not.

Here is what we would do.

• Read your notice line by line. If the Act covers the Elmwood Park site, your notice must include a disclosure of the amount of the severance pay which is payable and a statement of your rights on wages, severance pay, benefits and pension. If anything is missing, ask HR in writing.
• Check the rate used. If you are owed severance under the Act, it is paid at the average regular rate of compensation received during the employee’s last three years of employment with the employer or the final regular rate of compensation paid to the employee, whichever rate is higher, so compare it with your recent pay stubs.
• Do not sign severance away. A waiver of severance under the Act is not effective without approval of the waiver by the commissioner or a court of competent jurisdiction.
• Use the Rapid Response sessions. Ask HR when the state team will be on site, since it can explain unemployment benefits and help with job referrals and resumes, and pair that with How to Job Search With AI After a Layoff.
• File for unemployment on the right day. Wait until you stop working full time, then file immediately, even if you are getting severance pay, but if your last day of work is a Friday or Saturday, and you worked the full week, wait to file until after Sunday.
• Ask about retraining. The dislocated worker definition can fit people with a layoff notice who are unlikely to return to their previous occupation or industry, so ask a One-Stop counselor about training, and compare the routes in Factory Workers Lose Jobs as Plant Closes, What Comes Next.

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People Also Asked

Q: How many jobs is Dr. Praeger's cutting in New Jersey?

A: The company expects to eliminate 168 positions at its Elmwood Park site by Dec. 30, as production moves to a partner's facility in Kentucky.

Q: How much severance do laid off workers get in New Jersey?

A: When the law applies, meaning an employer who employs 100 or more employees at a place of employment which has been in operation for a period longer than three years and a transfer or termination of operations that results, during any continuous period of not more than 30 days, in the termination of employment of 50 or more employees, or if an employer conducts a mass layoff, the state WARN law requires severance pay equal to one week of pay for each full year of employment, plus an additional four weeks of pay for any employee given less than the number of days of notification required.

Q: Is Dr. Praeger's leaving New Jersey completely?

A: No, the company will remain headquartered in Elmwood Park, and remaining employees will move to a new Corporate Office in the Elmwood Park area early in 2027.

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