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Phillips Foods is closing its doors in Baltimore. (Photo: Stock File/FIS)
Phillips Foods to lay off workers
UNITED STATES
Wednesday, May 09, 2012, 04:40 (GMT + 9)
Seafood company Phillips Foods Inc will be shutting down its Baltimore manufacturing and distribution facility this summer and laying off 100 workers -- about 13 per cent of its workforce in the state of Maryland.
Phillips Foods had warned state regulators of the job cuts and indicated that it would try to place the affected workers in other jobs. Phillips said in a statement that there is an increasing number of restaurant openings.
The company also said it would move the production work at its Fort Avenue location to its other manufacturing sites and would transfer the warehouse and distribution work to MTC Logistics in Baltimore.
“We moved into our current plant in 2002 in hopes of growing our company, but given the difficult economic conditions and industry dynamics, we have not grown as we anticipated,” Phillips spokesperson Caroline Tippett said in a statement, Baltimore Business Journal reports. “Our Baltimore plant is simply too big, and we don’t have the capacity to fill the space.”
"While the decision to close our Baltimore plant was a difficult one, we are working hard to make the transition as smooth as possible and are providing stay bonuses and assistance services to impacted employees," she added, The Baltimore Sun reports.
Phillips Foods is exploring options for the plant, such as leasing office space to other companies moving into Baltimore or expanding their local presence, Tippett said.
The company's headquarters, which hosts sales, marketing and research and development staff, will remain at the 8.5-ac Fort Avenue location.
Phillips Foods, Inc is the largest importer of pasteurized crab meat in the US. It owns and operates its worldwide seafood processing plants and serves the crab meat it produces in its own restaurants.
Phillips owns and operates 17 plants worldwide: in the US, Ecuador, Mexico, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
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By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
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