The Farmland Foods processing plant in Albert Lea laid off about 90 workers today, but most or all of them are expected to be hired back when new production lines are added in a month or two, company representatives said.

Friday, March 23, 2001

The Farmland Foods processing plant in Albert Lea laid off about 90 workers today, but most or all of them are expected to be hired back when new production lines are added in a month or two, company representatives said.

About half the layoffs are seasonal, and the other half are short-term cuts brought on by production changes, said plant manager Ray Roberts.

&uot;We hope to hire them all back,&uot; Roberts said.

The company is moving

its Albert Lea ham-boning operation to plants in Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois, Roberts said, but they will be replaced in Albert Lea by sliced lunch-meat lines. One new line has already been added and two others are expected in the next six weeks, he said.

&uot;It just makes more economic sense to do the ham boning at our disassembly plants rather than our processing plants,&uot; said Sheralyn Manson, director of corporate communications for Farmland.

Roberts said he expects the plant’s workforce to be back to its pre-layoff strength within a few months.

&uot;Any long-term impact will be very small, and I think they’re hoping to have none,&uot; Manson said.

Seasonal layoffs in the spring are common in the industry, he said.

&uot;We have a rise in production for Easter ham business, and when Easter is over, there will be a slowdown,&uot; Roberts said.

The Albert Lea plant usually employs about 500 people, putting it among the top five employers in the city, according to a chamber of commerce survey conducted in August 2000.