Lance, Inc - A company with heart!

Yesterday I bemoaned that fact that the CEO's of the banks that received TARP funds were given bonuses from those funds. For someone who is unemployed it's really discouraging to see this sort of corporate greed and stupidity.

Having said that, it is very refreshing to see what David Singer, and Lance Inc. did for the employees of the Archway cookie factory in Ashland, Ohio. As this CNN article details the company that owned Archway Cookies closed the factory in Ashland Ohio, and laid off 300 employees.

Lance Inc. then purchased the factory and not only rehired 60 of the employees, but gave $1500 gift cards to all 300 of the former Archway employees. The plan is for Lance to eventually rehire all the employees which will be a big benefit to the town of Ashland.

Now I tend to be somewhat cynical, and I can see how this my be a great PR opportunity for Lance. Even if it is a PR opportunity it benefits everyone, so I can't complain. As a matter of fact I praise Lance for actually having heart, and thinking about those who were laid off. I feel so strongly about this that I actually submitted a comment to Lance praising them for doing the right thing. Below is the response I received today:

Hello,

Thank you for your kind words. Like you, thousands of people felt
compelled to comment after reading or seeing the CNN story. We heard
from people in nearly every state and quite a few soldiers stationed
overseas. We have been overwhelmed by the heartfelt expressions of
gratitude for Lance's approach in reopening the Archway bakery in
Ashland, OH.

Lance is excited to welcome the former Archway employees into the
Lance family and we're looking forward to getting Archway products
back in stores as quickly as possible. Getting room on the store
shelves is the key ingredient for getting the plant back to its full
capacity and putting more people back to work in Ashland.

Many people said they were looking forward to getting their favorite
Archway items back, and others said they had not historically bought
Archway, but would do so in the future. We are working hard to regain
shelf space in stores and get Archway back as quickly as possible.

Feel free to let your retailer know that you are looking for Archway
cookies; this will play a big part in helping us get back on the
shelves quickly.

Have a very Happy Holiday and New Year,

David Singer
President and CEO
Lance, Inc

Like I said I am a cynic, but this cynic really appreciates what Lance has done. That's why I have added Lance to the Other Links list. Hopefully other companies will get a little heart and start paying forward.

Feel free to leave a comment. I would like to know what others think about what Lance did for the employees.