CHICAGO – Fontanini Foods, a unit of Hormel Foods Corp., announced the company offered all 150 furloughed employees the opportunity to return to work. Fontanini Foods employs approximately 500 individuals.

In April, the company cited the dramatic decline in foodservice business driven by the global pandemic as the reason to furlough a portion of its workforce. Fontanini serves as a supplier to foodservice venues such as restaurants, hotels, sports arenas, colleges and universities. But as the foodservice sector continues to recover, Fontanini said the company is bringing back employees who have been out of work since the initial furlough started on May 4.

“As the foodservice industry continues to recover, we are welcoming all of our team members back to Fontanini,” said Kyle Kuhnke, plant manager, Fontanini Foods. “A large portion of our team has returned, and we expect others to be back in the next several days. We have a great group of inspired people, and it has been very difficult to have some of our team members temporarily away from work.”

All employees who were furloughed received company health benefits for the duration of the furlough.

Chicago-based Fontanini specializes in authentic Italian meats and sausages, in addition to pizza toppings and meatballs. Hormel Foods acquired Fontanini Italian Meats and Sausages from Capitol Wholesale Meats Inc. for $425 million in 2017.