Grimmway Farms officials say a reorganization is on the way for its operation, but the company will not be laying off hundreds of employees. They will be letting their employees choose if they want to transfer or take early retirement. If they do not choose either of those options, they will be laid off.
On Wednesday, officials issued a statement to 23ABC about reports of possible layoffs.
The statement reads:
"Due to evolving market conditions, new technologies, and a shift to regional carrot production, Grimmway Farms is consolidating its carrot packing and processing facilities in Kern County over the coming months. This decision will not interrupt our commitment to providing our customers with high quality, dependable service, and we’re committed to do everything we can to make this transition process as smooth as possible for our employees.
"While positions are being eliminated, we anticipate the vast majority of affected employees will accept a transfer to another Grimmway facility, a shift change, or an early retirement package. These operational changes should be viewed as a shift in capacity.
"These capacity shifts will not result in any facility closing. Grimmway Farms will discontinue production of organic baby carrots at its Arvin plant on Sycamore Rd. and move operations to the nearby Malaga facility on Malaga Rd. in Arvin.
"These operational adjustments will include altering shift times at both our Malaga and Premier facilities, which we believe – based on employee input and responses – will be agreeable with employee preferences.
"We’ll also be transferring one shift from our Mountain View facility in Lamont to our Premier facility in Shafter, and we’ll no longer conduct potato processing at our Edison facility – although we will continue other operations at Edison."
