SOUTH DEERFIELD — Yankee Candle is closing one of its three distribution sites in South Deerfield by the end of this year as Newell Brands, the candle maker’s parent company, moves ahead with consolidation plans.

The company said an auxiliary warehouse at 14 Industrial Drive will be shuttered and its operations moved to 27 Yankee Candle Way.

The company did not say whether there was a timeline for layoffs or how many employees are to be affected.

“We thank our employees for their service and dedication,” a spokesperson said in an email. “We are committed to supporting these employees through this time with comprehensive transition benefits and encourage them to apply for open positions at our other local facilities.”

The South Deerfield distribution center’s closure at 14 Industrial Drive follows the shuttering of Yankee Candle’s corporate offices in town in 2023. At that time, the company said the closure would not affect its research and development lab in Deerfield, its distribution and manufacturing sites or the flagship store on Routes 5 and 10.

Newell Brands said the action was spurred by a “need to cut overhead expenses” by taking “decisive action with our real estate portfolio,” according to a letter published by then-CEO Ravi Saligram last year. Employees working in the South Deerfield corporate offices were transferred to different facilities in South Deerfield and Whately.

Along with the corporate office closure, the company — which also owns the Sharpie and Rubbermaid brands among many other household name brands — cut roughly 13% of its employees last year.

“Yankee Candle was founded in the area and has a proud history,” the company said in its statement on Tuesday.

“Newell will maintain a presence in the community with our flagship Yankee Candle Village store, manufacturing facility and research and development lab.”

In a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing from Jan. 8, Newell Brands stated its board of directors approved an “organizational realignment” that will include “centralizing” numerous teams within the company, while also addressing its real estate portfolio. It also plans to “reduce its office roles by approximately 7%.”

“The company also plans to further optimize its real estate footprint and pursue other cost-reduction initiatives,” the filing states. “These actions are expected to be substantially implemented by the end of 2024.”

In all, the company is expecting pre-tax savings in the range of $65 to $90 million.

Hatfield operations

Meanwhile, Yankee Candle is now occupying a nearly 360,000-square-foot building at 142 Elm St. in Hatfield, formerly used by C&S Wholesale Grocers, according to the property owner.

FoxRock Properties, a Boston-area commercial real estate company, announced last week Friday that Yankee Candle moved to the building and 50-acre site in July.

“FoxRock is excited to add such a notable organization to our tenant roster,” Mark Carroll, managing director at FoxRock, said a statement. “We look forward to helping support their businesses in any way we can.”

In an email, a Yankee Candle spokesperson said the move to Hatfield began last spring. The location houses raw materials and “work-in-process inventory” that is later used for manufacturing.

Yankee Candle was founded by Michael Kittredge and is currently owned by Newell Brands. About a year ago, Newell Brands, the parent company of Yankee Candle, said it would close the South Deerfield corporate offices.

FoxRock acquired the Hatfield property in 2022 for $15.5 million, several months after it was vacated by C&S, and then signed a 10-year lease with the candle manufacturer shortly after the acquisition. The site is about a quarter mile from Interstate 91, with 114 parking spaces and 47 loading docks, and 23-foot high ceilings, for warehousing and distribution.

No site plan review was completed by the town’s Planning Board.

“This highly functional and well-located property is an excellent addition to our fast-growing portfolio,” Bryan Giudicelli, director of business development at FoxRock Properties, said in a statement.

Inland South Hatfield Elm LLC, of Newport, R.I., bought the building, constructed in 1968, in December 2006, when C&S sold the Elm Street site for $19.3 million, and its second Hatfield location, at 95 North Hatfield Road, for $37.3 million.

At the time, the sale of the Hatfield warehouses, along with one in Westfield and another in Aberdeen, Md., meant that C&S would be renting those spaces, rather than owning them, with leases set to expire in 2022.

How operations at C&S, or its 1,000 employees in Hatfield, were affected by the FoxRock sale wasn’t immediately known, as a C&S spokesperson said the company doesn’t comment on operations or structure changes.