PHOENIX, AZ – Nestle Waters just announced that they’re closing the doors on the Phoenix bottling plant, which just began production in the middle of last year. This leaves many residents jobless – and a bit confused. Why did they decide to close after just beginning the project?

Factory manager, Hugues Larente, announced the decision at the beginning of this week. Apparently, the company plans to move the production line in order to support growth in another area of the country. They stated that the bottled water industry is extremely competitive: “In response to the competitive situation, we have been evolving our operations to meet our future needs and to position the company for long-term success.”

And, they plan to provide separation packages to the employees impacted by the decision. Back when the plant first opened, there was some controversy on whether or not it was good for the city. On one side, city officials discussed how the plant would create jobs for the people in the area. They anticipated up to fifty jobs created at first, with possibly hundreds more in the future. Since the bottling plant needs people to run the equipment as well as to test the water, among other jobs, they believed this growth would be beneficial.

However, critics worried about the use of Phoenix’s water. With droughts and the threat of climate change, some worried about putting a large source of the city’s water in a large company’s hands. They wondered about the risks to the city. Essentially, critics believe states suffering droughts should not allow for-profit organizations to have access to the water source. In fact, Nestle’s website demonstrates that officials had an investment of $35 million in the plant.

But… apparently these debates are null and void now, as Nestle is shutting the plant’s doors.