OBSERVER File Photo Americold in Dunkirk was originally required to hire 60 employees by 2028. That number has been reduced to 40. The company is also bringing on an outside investor.

A newly constructed cold storage facility has lowered the number of employees it was required to hire, as it goes through corporate restructuring.

Representatives with Americold Real Estate were in attendance virtually at the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency this week.

IDA Director Mark Geise noted that Americold was seeking an amendment to its Payment In Lieu Of Taxes agreement, which was approved back in 2021.

Americold has a multi-million freezer storage facility in the town of Dunkirk. The vast majority of its business comes from Wells Enterprises.

After the warehouse facility was constructed, Wells had announced that it was laying off more than 300 employees.

Less than a year later, Wells announced it was reversing course and has done a multi-phase expansion of its plant in the city of Dunkirk, which is still underway.

“At the end of the day it ended up being a half a billion dollars worth of investment, but it did delay how much they would be storing at the Americold facility,” Geise said.

In the original agreement, Americold was to hire 60 full-time employees by 2028. Company officials asked that number be reduced to 40.

CORPORATE RESTRUCTURE

IDA attorney Milan Tyler noted that Americold is going through a corporate restructuring. “They’re bringing in an outside investor,” he said.

In a news release dated May 7, it was announced that Americold Realty Trust, Inc., a global leader in temperature-controlled logistics, and EQT, a purpose-driven global investment organization, had formed a new joint venture with EQT’s Active Core Infrastructure fund, focused on the ownership, operation, and potential development of high-quality cold storage warehouse facilities in North America.

Under the terms of the agreement, Americold will contribute 12 cold storage facilities to the joint venture with an aggregate value in excess of $1.3 billion at inception. The facilities are located across the United States and comprise a total of approximately 124 million cubic feet of temperature-controlled capacity, with over 400,000 combined pallet positions.

According to the news release, this joint venture is expected to be among the largest operators of cold storage facilities in North America. EQT will acquire a 70% interest in the joint venture, and Americold will retain a 30% equity interest and serve as day-to-day manager of the platform to ensure continuity of service and Americold’s proven operational excellence for customers. Americold expects to receive approximately $1.1 billion in net cash proceeds from the transaction, which is expected to be used to repay outstanding debt.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

Alan Supple, speaking on behalf of Americold, discussed the request to lower the hiring number. “We find ourselves today at a 58% physical occupancy and a through-volume significantly lower than we would have expected at this point,” he said.

He noted they invested $37 million into the facility.

Supple said he does believe they will eventually have a higher capacity, but for now, he doesn’t foresee them needing 60 employees. “We’re in the 25 range now. … Seasonally we might peak a little bit more than that. We’re simply not seeing the volume or the activity that would support a high level of employment. As we see ramping, we do expect to get to that 40 level, certainly by the end of ’28,” he said.

Supple said the average general labor employee there now earns around $26 an hour.

He also noted that he’s been involved with the transaction regarding the corporate restructuring. “We’re bringing in an outside investor who is taking a stake in a group of assets, including Dunkirk, across the country. It’s a vote of confidence in supporting not only our platform, but these assets specifically. These assets have been hand selected. Some of them are our finest assets, the ones we think, with the most potential,” Supple said.

Supple also said there will be no operational changes, once the transaction is completed. “It’s business as usual. Americold will continue to run these assets. John (Robbins) will continue as the general manager. If nothing else, we will have more ‘wind at our back’ to bring this thing up to full capacity,” he said.

Because there was no additional financial assistance request, no public hearing was required.

Following the presentation, the county IDA Board of Directors unanimously approved to lower the hiring requirement from 60 full time employees to 40 by 2028.