The Panera Bread bakery in Franklin is set to close down in March and put the facility’s 92 employees out of a job, according to Boston Business Journal (BBJ).
The closure is part of a “baked goods model changeup” at the fast-casual restaurant chain, BBJ reported. Panera Bread is in the process of shifting from using fresh dough bakeries to offering “parbaked” bread and other baked goods.
Parbaking (short for partially baking) is a technique in which dough is partially baked, then rapidly frozen to allow it to be stored or shipped. Panera Bread plans to parbake its baked goods, then ship them to restaurants where on-site employees will finish baking them, BBJ reported.
The Missouri-based eatery chain said in a statement to the BBJ that the new method will allow Panera to “have greater availability of the breads our guests love, ensuring quality while allowing us to expand innovation and variety.”
The Franklin bakery’s employees, who are not part of a union, were notified of the closure and job losses on Jan. 22, BBJ reported. Panera told the journal it is offering the workers severance pay and hosting a job fair for them on Feb. 23.
“We deeply value our team members and are committed to supporting them through this transition with resources, career opportunities and guidance,” a Panera spokesperson said in a statement to BBJ.
