After federal agents detained nearly 60 Hispanic workers at a Cayuga County factory, the owner says he believes the company did nothing wrong, according to The Citizen.
Lenny Schmidt of Nutrition Bar Confectioners in Ira said the raid and ongoing investigation are unsettling but insists his company hires fairly and pays well. Five workers face charges, and over 50 are being deported. Schmidt says the hiring spike in Hispanic workers came post-COVID when others stopped applying.
Despite losing a third of its staff, the factory aims to recover production by mid-October.

