COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is giving some kitchen employees a choice of working at the company’s local shops or taking a severance package.

With its production kitchen still offline, the Columbus-based ice cream maker and retailer told Columbus Business First Friday that 40 full-time employees at its Michigan Avenue kitchen have been offered the chance to stay with the company and pick up hours at its 10 Central Ohio shops or take a pay and benefits package based on their time with the business.

The company declined to say how many employees it has or how many have been let go since the listeria crisis began.

CEO John Lowe’s full statement:

Our team continues to work hand in hand with external experts to get our production kitchen open again, but we still do not have a timeline for when that can happen. In the meantime, we are offering to the 40 fulltime kitchen employees who are not able to work, the opportunity and training to join our Columbus shops team. For any of those employees who are not interested in moving to our shops team, we are providing an extended period of pay and healthcare benefits based on their time with the company, as well as introductions to employment opportunities with local companies. Another set of kitchen employees have transitioned into new roles, helping Jeni and our test kitchen team source ingredients, develop holiday recipes, find alternative preparation locations and methods.