I feel really bad for these workers however it was clear when the for sale sign was put up a year ago this plant was closing. It was also clear unless a 3rd party stepped up to purchase the plant the workers would lose their jobs.

To me if the employees had not be appraised they could possible loose their employment and if they were not already receiving updates this company should be sued. It is not acceptable to put employees though this type of stress.

Here's a simple concept. Always anticipate your job going away, no matter what the circumstance. You should at least be on yellow alert if your company is ever merged or bought.

This whole thing stinks of spoiled milk though.

Hi Sarah
This company had to be sold due to the anti-trust lawsuit. I don't believe the anti-trust
was valid as we have a dwindling amount of dairy farmers due to the economy of farming.
In my opinion a dis-service has been done by our own government red tape and out dated regulations.
That being said the company had been trying to find an acceptable suitor for this company to save the jobs and the actual company. This is just out right greed and the workers along with the public will be the losers.
It is a sad day in Waukesha.

Assuming GG is out of business, I just wonder if Dean Foods increased it's market share? Again.

I agree corperate greed sucks! Now they can jack the price up on milk and we have kids to feed. Just like gas prices and everything else! Time and time again ( OUR GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED WE THE PEOPLE ) now over 100 people are job less this makes me sick!!!!!!!

I worked almost 19 years at G.G. leaving in 2004 to live Up North. G.G. was a wonderful oportunity for me and my family. I worked with many very good, hard working, fair and honest people at G.G. It hurts me to see these people treated in this way. They deserve far better. But times certainly have changed, and the bigshots apparently do not care who gets in the way of their obscene profits... sell the pieces and make the profits, ... or reopen and rehire the same workers with less wage, vacation and benefit costs. Act two to follow.... Jeff P.

I would think that one of the biggest fears for these employees relates to their insurance coverage.. They probably don't know if they have any.. They can't go to the Dr., they can't get prescriptions filled and they get hassled by the hospitals if they can't prove they have insurance. These people have families and these families need health care and they are probably on hold until someone tells them something.

I provided some consulting for a company that "forgot" to pay the insurance premiums before they closed the company. Those employee's were terrified and desperate.

It seems like GG has been here forever! To hear it has closed without warning is just too much to handle. I just don't understand how this can happen without due notice. So here we go again. Somewhere in the future there will not plants, factories and business, just government run agencies. May as well move to
Russia!

Why are many of you talking corp greed when it was the fed gov who forced the state gov to force deans to sell cuz they sold too much milk? The TV news did not even mention this. Isn't it ironic that the fed gov forces schools to sell milk but sues the plant that provides it?

Its way deeper than we think. Milk is only good for 15 days thats it! Now we have farmers with no where to go with there product and the company is in calafornia you know the other dairy state. I see businesses closeing all over waukesha! So the cost of liveing goes up!

I can only speculate the company will be sold (or restructured) and reopen like Jeff P. mentions above.... with a lower pay scale for there employees and less overhead to be competitive. Something caused this abrubt shutdown that is what we are all waiting to hear about.

It should be as simple as this; produce a product-sell the product- people buy the product-people have jobs. Instead it goes like this: produce a product that the gov subsidises (taxpayers pay for)-sell the product to the same people (taxpayers) who helped pay to produce it-buy the product that we actually helped pay to make- regulate the product to death-the people lose their jobs.
The people have no product that they paid to make!
Who wins in this? No one. We all get screwed. Gov Walker needs to look into this shady deal that left more people jobless.
I do agree with James that it is suspicious that a CA company bought and closed a WI dairy co in a year!
Follow the money!

Capitalism is indeed a powerful tool, but I consider it as a means to an end (i.e., the welfare of mankind), rather than an end in itself. Thus, we have a need for prudent regulation.

Its Obama's fault. Very sad, but under this President more will fall.

Why doesn't the media get on a plane and go out to OpenGateCapital and see what kind of an interview can be done? God knows they go all over our country to report on other minor issues, so why not now?

doesn't opengatecaptiol have an office here? or they just run out of cali?

Thanks to JB Van Rino and Wis dept of Justice.

Andrew Nikou the Founder and CFO of Open Gate says the following under his bio on the companies web site:
"Mr. Nikou recognizes the importance of supporting communities and organizations that need financial and leadership support in order to thrive. To that end, Andrew dedicates a portion of the profits from each of his investments to both charitable and political organizations including children’s health and research groups, mental health support groups and microfinance organizations."

I feel much better about the closing now.. Don't you?

Open Gate Capital no longer lists G.G. as a current investment on it's web page.

Dean's was forced to stop operating the UNION plant. They are entitled to view fiscal reports of loss so they had the documents showing the losses through the last year!

My questions: Why didn't THEY step up when the plant was up for sell and attempt "employee owned" operations?

Did they NOT check the stocks and watch the loss to alert their PAYING THEIR WAGE employees what was going on?

Please! OGC and the US Goverment had this planned! Roundy's stepping up and wanted to plant during the sale! Nope, DEnied! 4 other locals had interest in the sale... NOPE, DEnied!

I'd trust a milk source NOT controlled by our fabulous government and a puppet in California for them! I don't want a 3rd eye drinking a glass of milk

I was also effected by GG closing. Was a month shy of 14 years. It's all Open Gate Capitals fault! If you read the history of their buys,sells,closings, etc... you will see that sonething isn't right. GG with stood being sold twice, and we stayed in business. Now we can't make it? OGC wouldn't even let GG find a buyer! Why is that? Glad they can sleep at night.

Steve Where do you get you information? Just wondering what TV Guide has to do with this.

OGC-G.G. has now filed chapter 7. Now someone can come in and buy it for pennies on the dollar.

Being the grandson of the orginal founder Gavin McKerrow. Seeing this is like being told of a death in the family. I was in my early teens when he passed away. My father took the helm for a period of time. He then turned it over to someone else. Golden Guernsey Dairy was founded on being a Co-op, farmers and plant employees own stock in it. Somewhere that changed, My grandfather fought very hard in the mid 60's to maintain employee owned even with threats to his life. It is a sad day to see this slip into the could have been of history. Family farms continue to fade into history which was the major base for this Co-op. We can ask for help from the local business and the State. But for any kind of a chance for GG would be the Wisconsin farmers and those that work in the plant to elect a spokesperson to represent their interests. In other words going back to the founding principle that started the dairy during the Great Depression. William A. McKerrow Jr.

Funny but actually now Dean Foods might be able to buy it back. Here is why. Part of the DOJ ruling against Dean stated that Dean had to clear any purchase, of any bottling plant with the DOJ if the purchase price was above a certain dollar figure. There was no restrictions on the amount of milk they would be then able to sell, just on the purchase price.

Not saying Dean would necessarily want the plant back, but they did run it at a profit. Dean has had to close plants over the years too, milk sales have been on a slow decline for years. However, in periods where milk margins shrink, and gas prices are high, because of their size they have been able to negotiate the land mines.