Amy’s Kitchen to cut 49 local jobs as company restructures
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POCATELLO — Amy’s Kitchen will permanently lay off 49 employees at its Pocatello plant by the end of the year, but the facility is expected to remain a major part of the company’s operations as it consolidates manufacturing in Idaho and Oregon.
The Petaluma, California-based organic food company announced Thursday that it will close its original manufacturing facility in Santa Rosa, California, in phases and shift production to its plants in Pocatello and Medford, Oregon.
Amy’s opened its 479,000-square-foot Pocatello plant in 2014, while its 350,000-square-foot Medford facility opened in 2005. The Pocatello plant employs roughly 750 to 800 workers.
As part of the restructuring, Amy’s plans to eliminate its Pocatello canning operation and move that work to Medford. According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, notice filed with the Idaho Department of Labor, the affected Pocatello employees will be separated from the company effective Dec. 18.
The cuts include cooks, manufacturing operators and several other positions. Employees at the Pocatello facility are not represented by a union, and the notice says the layoffs are expected to be permanent.
REVIEW: Amy’s Kitchen WARN notice
However, as the Pocatello plant loses its canning operation, Amy’s says the facility will expand its role as the company’s designated entrée production facility. The Medford plant will specialize in pizza, soup and burritos, along with the canning operation being transferred from Pocatello.
“Amy’s is making changes to its manufacturing network so each facility can focus on the product categories where it is strongest,” the company said in a statement provided to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
The restructuring will have a much larger impact at the company’s Santa Rosa plant, where 207 jobs will eventually be eliminated as the facility shuts down in phases.
Amy’s CEO Paul Schiefer said the company’s manufacturing network became increasingly complex as it expanded and opened additional facilities.
“As we’ve grown, our manufacturing network has become more complex than our business needs today,” Schiefer told The Press Democrat. “Aligning our network around what each facility is best positioned to do is what keeps Amy’s operating efficiently for the long run, for our employees, our retailers, and the families who count on our food.”
Amy’s said demand for its products remains strong, with retail sales approaching $1 billion annually. The company described the restructuring as an effort to streamline production rather than a response to declining business.
Schiefer said the decision to close the Santa Rosa plant and eliminate jobs was not made lightly.
“This is hard, and it should be hard. We looked at every alternative before landing here,” he said. “We have a loyal workforce in Santa Rosa, and we’re incredibly grateful for everything they’ve contributed.”
Affected employees will receive separation packages, job-placement assistance and access to counseling through the company’s employee assistance program.
Despite the Pocatello job cuts, the restructuring leaves the Idaho facility as one of Amy’s two primary manufacturing operations, with production increasingly divided between Pocatello and Medford.
Pocatello Mayor Mark Dahlquist said he spoke with local Amy’s management on Friday and was told the remaining employees at the local facility will be retained. Additionally, he spoke with an engineering firm working on several upgrades at the Pocatello facility.
EastIdahoNews.com reached out to local officials for comment on the layoffs, but was told they were not at liberty to comment on behalf of the company.