OHIO, USA — An iconic frozen food home delivery service is ending operations after seven decades.
Cygnus Home Service, which operates the frozen food delivery service now known as Yelloh, announced layoffs and facility closures nationwide.
Yelloh, formerly known as Schwan's, announced the company will "permanently park its iconic yellow delivery vehicles."
A WARN notice filed Monday covered the closure of several facilities and the permanent layoffs of 92 employees in Ohio.
Schwan's began operation 72 years ago in Marshall, Minnesota and was founded by Marvin Schwan. It grew to become a nationwide company, delivering frozen meals to homes in iconic yellow trucks.
Schwan's Home Delivery changed its name to Yelloh in March of 2022 in hopes of improving sales. But the company continued to struggle and the company has already closed facilities or laid off employees throughout this year and across the country.
"It’s with heavy hearts that we made the difficult decision to cease operations of Yelloh,” said CEO Bernardo Santana in a statement Monday. “We are thankful to our many loyal customers and hard-working employees for everything they have done to support us. I am deeply grateful for our employees’ tireless and bold efforts, and our customers’ dedication. It has been our utmost pleasure and honor to serve our customers their favorite meals and frozen treats.”
RELATED: Yelloh, iconic yellow-truck home delivery service once known as Schwan's, ending operations
The company cited "multiple insurmountable business challenges for the decision, including economic and market forces, as well as changing consumer lifestyles" as the reason for the decision.
According to Yelloh officials, the company will wind down operations to close over the next several weeks, ending in November.
The last day products can be purchased from Yelloh trucks will be Nov. 8.
None of the laid off employees are union and will be paid through Nov. 22, consistent with the WARN Act.
Michael Ziebell, a board member and 22-year Schwan's/Yelloh executive, said in Monday's statement that closing the company was a heartbreaking decision.
“The current Yelloh team has worked hard against external headwinds such as the nationwide staffing challenges and crushing food supply chain disruption caused by the pandemic,” Ziebell said. “These challenges, combined with changing consumer lifestyles and competitive pressures that have been building for over 20 years, made success very difficult. Digital shopping has replaced the personal, at-thedoor customer interaction that was the hallmark of the company.”
Thirteen employees in Ohio were affected by layoffs announced in May.
The following permanent layoffs and facility closures were announced through the company's WARN notice on Monday:
- Byesville: 10
- Galion: 11
- Hartsville: 20
- Hillard: 1
- Hillsboro: 8
- Lima: 5
- Napoleon: 8
- Racine: 1
- Toledo: 13
- Troy: 15
"Our concern is now for our employees and caring for them as we all come to terms with the fact that this business – that served millions of families and provided a livelihood for thousands over the decades – has regrettably run its life cycle," Ziebell said.
WTOL 11 sister station KARE 11 contributed to this report.
