Le Blog Du Maire

Fulton chocolate factory has no plans to close

Friday March 10 2006

The CEO of New York Chocolate and Confection said Friday that his company has no plans to close the Fulton plant.

"We are committed to meeting our long term goals of bringing full-fledged chocolate production back to Fulton," Jean-Claude Amon said in a statement this morning.
A day after Fulton Mayor Daryl Hayden said the company was on the verge of closing due to lack of funding from Africa, Amon said the company was "experiencing a delay in funding from its investors in Ivory Coast. Amon blamed the delay on changing trade and agricultural regulations in the Ivory Coast.

As a matter of fact, recent decisions made at the level of the Cocoa Board stressed the commitment of the shareholders to solve, once and for all, the financial situation of New York Chocolate after having funded $26 million and kept in place 75 employees," Amon said.
The company has no plans to lay off workers, he said.
Amon, and company creditors, had been waiting for officials in the Ivory Coast to release money the factory needs to operate. Oswego County Legislature Chairman Russ Johnson, R-Fulton, said the company was due $8.3 million.

Without the money coming in, Fulton Mayor Daryl Hayden said Thursday he expected the plant to shut down today. The plant employs 70 people.