Dan D'Ambrosio

Free Press Staff Writer

Keurig Green Mountain will cut 108 jobs in Vermont as a result of discontinuing the Keurig Kold system, which "failed to fully deliver on consumer expectations," the company says.

Suzanne DuLong, Keurig's vice president of global corporate communications, said that although the company viewed the Kold system as a "pioneering innovation," consumers had a different perception.

"They told us they would like it to be smaller and faster, and provide a more compelling value," DuLong said.

Keurig Kold was widely criticized by industry analysts for its $370 price tag and the price of the pods used in the machine. Coke sold for $4.99 for a four-pack of pods, which worked out to $1.25 for an 8-ounce serving.

Gov. Peter Shumlin and Lt. Gov. Phil Scott issued statements Tuesday regarding the Keurig job cuts.

"This is obviously incredibly difficult news for the Vermonters affected by these layoffs," Shumlin said. "Our first concern is for them and their families."

Shumlin said the Department of Labor is "already working to provide rapid response services and connect affected workers with the many Vermont companies currently hiring and expanding."

Scott, a Republican who is running for governor, said he would work with state leaders, agencies and the Keurig employees themselves to help the workers who have lost their jobs to get "back to work here in Vermont."

“I understand Keurig will do everything in their power to place the former Keurig KOLD team in new positions within the company," Scott said.

Suzanne DuLong said there were 130 job cuts company-wide related to shutting down Keurig Kold production. She said a plant built in Douglasville, Georgia, that was going to produce pods for the system was never operational.

The Kold pods were being produced in a new plant in Williston, which DuLong said will continue to produce pods for the company's coffee brewer.

The employees who lost their jobs will receive severance packages according to their tenure, DuLong said.

The Waterbury-based Keurig Green Mountain was sold in December 2015 to a Luxembourg-based private equity firm, JAB Holding Co., for $13.9 billion, ending Keurig's tenure as a public company. The sale closed earlier this year, and in March, Keurig announced it had hired a new chief executive officer, promoting then-CEO Brian Kelley to vice chairman of the board.

The new CEO is Bob Gamgort, formerly CEO of Pinnacle Foods, Inc. in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Kelley largely was responsible for introducing Keurig Kold, a product that analysts criticized from launch as too expensive.

JAB Holding Co. owns controlling stakes in Coty Inc., a cosmetics and beauty company, and luxury goods companies including Jimmy Choo, Balloy and Belstaff. JAB also has controlling stakes in Peet's Coffee & Tea company, Caribou Coffee Co., and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc.

This story was first published online on June 7, 2016. Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DanDambrosioVT.

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