‘Cereal City’ Loses 550 Kellogg Jobs

Kellogg Co. announced it will close most of its historic hometown plant in Battle Creek, Mich., and cut about 550 jobs in its latest effort to revive a sagging bottom line. Kellogg is the third-largest employer in the community of 56,000, which calls itself “Cereal City.� The company said it would offer assistance to workers whose jobs are eliminated. Though still the world’s top manufacturer of ready-to-eat cereals, Kellogg has been hurt by competition from cheaper, store-brand cereals and by market changes. Fewer Americans are eating cereal in the morning., preferring convenience foods that can be eaten on the run, such as bagels.