970822 Perdue Farms Conversion Will Layoff 400
August 8, 1997
Perdue Farms Inc. said it will turn a poultry processing plant into a prepared foods facility, leaving more than 400 employees without jobs by early next year.
The company said in a statement that all 556 employees at the processing plant will be laid off during a six-month renovation of the plant. Work will begin Oct. 10.
Once the new plant is operating, only 150 to 200 workers will be needed, it said.
Workers thrown out of work by the conversion will be told about openings at other Perdue plants. The company employs 5,600 workers at 22 locations in North Carolina.
The plant's conversion, expected to cost at least $11 million, is being made to try to take advantage of the growing market for cooked chickens.
"We are seeing a major growth opportunity in value-added and prepared foods markets," said Perdue chairman Jim Perdue. "Consumers want convenience and we are committed to providing products that address this demand."
Perdue Farms, based in Salisbury, Md., is the nation's second largest poultry producer, processing 42 million pounds of chicken per week. The Concord plant processes 450,000 birds per week.
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