Let the chips fall where they may.
That seems to be the fate of efforts to create and retain private-industry jobs in Massachusetts, now that a company with a name that embodies the soul of the Bay State will soon be shuttering.
In just a few months, Cape Cod potato chips will no longer be manufactured on the Cape.
Its parent company, Campbell’s, announced that it will close its Hyannis operation in April, and move production to facilities in North Carolina, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The plant’s closure, after operating for more than 40 years on Cape Cod, will result in the elimination of 49 jobs.
The announcement follows in the wake of several other Massachusetts businesses that have either relocated, closed, or shed employees.
Thermo Fisher Scientific, the state’s largest publicly traded company, said it will be laying off over 100 workers as it shuts down its facility in Franklin, according to the Boston Business Journal.
The town of Franklin’s taking another economic hit. Panera Bread announced it’s closing its fresh dough facility there in March, eliminating 92 jobs in the process.
And Zipcar, that seminal car-sharing service begun in Cambridge, said it will close its Boston-area headquarters.
Avis Budget Group, which acquired Zipcar in 2013, will move its operations center to Parsippany, N.J. Avis’ departure, scheduled for April, will also include 126 layoffs – 65 of those in the Boston area.
Cape Cod potato chip’s demise also comes about a week after Curia Global, the reigning Massachusetts “Manufacturer of the Year,” announced the closure of its Burlington facility, putting a cherry on top of the recent departures of several other businesses to more tax-friendly states like New Hampshire.
Some observers see the trend as another symptom of Massachusetts’ eroding business climate.
Marty Bruemmel, executive director of the Greater Hyannis Chamber of Commerce, told the Boston Herald that the challenges faced by Massachusetts businesses — high state taxes, strict regulations and other policies — can’t be ignored.
The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance attributes the closure to Beacon Hill policies, warning that the state continues to lose too many businesses to other states like New Hampshire and North Carolina, which have lower costs and a more competitive business environment.
“Massachusetts cannot even keep Cape Cod potato chips in Cape Cod,” MassFiscal Executive Director Paul Craney said.
“When a company whose entire identity is tied to this state decides it no longer makes economic sense to operate here, that should set off alarm bells on Beacon Hill,” Craney continued.
Another iconic Massachusetts potato chip maker has managed to survive being acquired twice by larger companies, both of which at least had enough faith in the company and its product to retain the brand name and in-state manufacturing facility.
Utz Brands, the Pennsylvania-based snack manufacturer that purchased Wachusett Potato Chip Co. in 2011 and continued to produce the brand since, struck a deal in April 2024 to sell the factory in Fitchburg to Our Home, the New Jersey-based manufacturer of snacks, including Popchips.
The sale didn’t impact the Wachusett brand, Kevin Brick, vice president of regulatory and community affairs for Utz, told the Worcester Business Journal at the time.
Unfortunately, Campbell’s didn’t express the same faith in Massachusetts.
Sentinel and Enterprise
