Kraft Heinz Co. will be closing down seven factories and laying off about 2,600 employees in North America, according to a report from USA Today.
The move is part of the company's efforts to cut costs.
Kraft Heinz said that they will be closing their manufacturing facilities in Fullerton and San Leandro, California, in Federalsburg, Maryland, in Campbell, New York, in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, in Madison, Wisconsin, and in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada, according to USA Today.
The company plans to have the closure over the next 12 to 24 months.
USA Today adds that Michael Mullen, the senior vice president of corporate government affairs at Kraft Heinz, said in a statement that the closure is a "critical step" in the company's plan to "eliminate excess capacity and reduce operational redundancies for the new combined company."
"This will make Kraft Heinz more globally competitive and accelerate the company's future growth," he said. "We have reached this difficult but necessary decision after thoroughly exploring extensive alternatives and options."
Reuters adds that the move to cut about 5.9 percent of its workforce comes less than three months after the company was created.
Kraft Heinz was created in July when H.J. Heinz Co completed its merger with Kraft Foods Group.
Reuters adds that the new company said, following its merger, that it would eliminate 2,500 jobs in the U.S. and Canada.
The company currently has 44,100 employees.
Reuters adds that investors and analysts were expecting the job cuts at the company following the announcement of the $46 billion merger in March.
Shares of Kraft Heinz were unchanged at $75.82 in after-hours trading on Wednesday, November 4, 2015.
USA Today adds that Kraft Heinz said that it will also close down its existing lunch-meat processing plant in Davenport, Iowa and move the production to a new state-of-the-art plant within two years.
The new plant will be built several miles away from the current plant.
USA Today adds that the company will also be moving 250 corporate jobs at its Oscar Mayer and U.S. meat business unit in Madison, Wisconsin to Chicago.
