Unilever to move Sundial Brands, 169 jobs off Long Island, state filings show

Sundial Brands, an Amityville manufacturer of beauty and personal care products primarily marketed to African American women, will be closing its Long Island production facility in April, laying off 169 workers, according to state filings.

The local minority-founded company, with product lines such as SheaMoisture, Nubian Heritage and Madam C.J. Walker, was acquired by London-based consumer goods conglomerate Unilever in 2017 for $1.6 billion, according to Forbes. This week, Unilever announced in a state WARN filing that manufacturing operations at the Amityville facility — located at 11 Ranick Dr. S. — and an affiliated warehouse operation would end on April 5. WARN is the state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act

The parent company said production of the product lines would continue at sites off Long Island.

“Unilever is ending manufacturing of beauty and personal care products in Amityville, N.Y., in April of next year and will transfer production to other locations in our U.S. manufacturing network,” the company said in a statement issued to Newsday.

“We will also end operations at the plant’s warehouse in Farmingdale, N.Y.,” Unilever said.

Founded in 1991 by Liberian immigrant Richelieu Dennis, the company was to operate as a stand-alone business in Unilever’s portfolio, the consumer goods giant said at the time of the acquisition,  retaining Dennis as Sundial’s chief executive.

Dennis did not respond to requests seeking comment.

Unilever, which owns brands such as Dove Soap and Ben & Jerry’s, purchased the minority-owned  business as part of a broader initiative to grow its offerings of beauty, hair and skin-care products for Black women, the company said in 2017 before completing the acquisition.

In its statement regarding the layoffs, Unilever said it plans to increase production of the Sundial line of products, but its current Long Island site wasn’t sufficient for that growth.

“We are realigning production to support our growth plans for these product categories as the Amityville factory site has considerable size constraints that limit its ability to expand,” the company said.

Unilever did not respond to requests seeking comment on where the production of Sundial branded goods would be transferred.

At the time of its purchase, Sundial employed around 300 people between its Amityville and Farmingdale facilities. Private equity firm Bain Capital LLC purchased a stake in the then family-owned business in 2015 for an undisclosed amount.

Unilever said that employees impacted by the layoff — 167 in Amityville and two in Farmingdale — would have the option to apply for other jobs within Unilever in advance of the local closure.

“The sites’ employees have the opportunity to apply for open positions at other Unilever sites with relocation provided,” the company said. “We will also provide outplacement services, reskilling education and development training.”

Amityville Mayor Dennis M. Siry said he was surprised to hear about the departure of the Unilever plant.

“It’s going to be a shame to have them a leave, without a doubt,” Siry said Wednesday. “It’s the kind of business you’re proud to have … I wish they had talked with us before they made the decision.”

The WARN law  requires companies with at least 50 full-time employees to file a notice of a mass layoff or a closing 90 days in advance.