Since San Francisco–area brand Amy’s Kitchen started making prepared foods in 1987, it’s curated an earnest mom-and-pop vibe. The vegetarian and organic manufacturer is privately owned by the Berliner family and known for its range of store-bought comfort foods—like canned soups, frozen burritos, hand-stretched pizzas, and mac and cheese. It’s also widely regarded for its values that prioritize employees. But an Eater report published today surfaced new worker allegations deeply at odds with the company’s wholesome reputation—the latest in a slew of accusations about brutal conditions at the company.
Six former employees made claims, some of which include sexual harassment from a manager who would reportedly “touch himself” on the job while speaking to female workers, and supervisors delegating heavier workloads to older women than to their younger colleagues. Some of the same workers recently told Eater that they lodged complaints of harassment and unfair treatment, but employees felt Amy’s Kitchen did not sufficiently act on them. In some cases, whistleblowers who spoke out against inappropriate behavior alleged that managers retaliated by lodging their own complaints against those employees and encouraging colleagues sharing a manufacturing line to ignore them.
In a statement to Bon Appétit, Amy’s Kitchen said that the company plans to hire an independent, third-party firm to assess its human resources procedures. “While we believe our processes have been followed, the allegations that have been raised are deeply concerning and do not reflect the safe, supportive work environment we intend to create,” the statement says.
Workers also detailed antics from Amy’s Kitchen leadership that they perceived as union busting, like threatening those involved in recent organizing efforts, offering to address staff grievances directly in order to dissuade union support, and shutting down its San Jose plant on July 18, which had opened less than a year earlier to meet pandemic demands.
“While Amy’s Kitchen’s three other food processing facilities have been able to meet production and revenue goals, the San Jose plant was losing $1 million per month, which could not be offset by the company’s other facilities,” Amy’s Kitchen told Bon Appétit regarding allegations about the plant closure. “We therefore made the difficult decision to cease operations at our San Jose food processing facility.”
