By Valley Ag Voice Staff
Cargill is set to lay off 178 workers from its meat processing plant in Fresno, California, ahead of the facility’s sale to Central Valley Meat, the state’s largest beef producer. The Fresno plant produces an average of 1,600 cattle per day and about 1.4 million pounds of trim, boxed, and case-ready beef daily.
Layoff notices were issued to the workers between June 5 and 7, according to WARN filings. The decision to lay off the workers is part of Cargill’s agreement to sell the plant to Central Valley Meat, which committed to retaining as many of the plant’s workers as possible.
Upon the announcement of the acquisition in May, Central Valley Meat Company issued a press release explaining that Cargill’s team would have an opportunity to explore roles with CVM.
“Both companies are committed to retaining as many employees as possible and retaining beef processing capacity for producers,” the press release stated.
A Cargill spokesperson told Agriculture Dive that more than 700 employees will join CVM upon its purchase of the plant, and the WARN notice was issued for the 178 employees who will not be retained.
The affected workers will continue to receive pay and benefits for 60 days and will be eligible for severance packages and job search, application, and interview assistance, the spokesperson said.
The layoffs are set to take effect on Aug. 4, according to the WARN filings.
