WELLS &045; ConAgra Foods announced to employees at their Wells plant Wednesday that it would shut down the facility early next year, moving production to a existing plant in Lufkin, Texas.

Workers at the meat-processing plant, which employs about 225, received a letter from the company’s human resources director saying the move will keep production costs low, a key to the financial success. The letter said employees will lose their jobs by Feb. 13.

A spokesman said jobs will be gradually eliminated in the next few months, but didn’t know when that would begin.

The plant is one of the largest employers in Wells, a city with a population of about 2,500. The decision came as a surprise to workers and the city, and adds to an already high unemployment rate. It made some people in Wells question whether the laid-off workers will be able to find work and how their town will fare.

&uot;It’s going to hurt the community,&uot; said Mike Mosser, a forklift operator at the plant. Mosser said he’s more worried about other workers than himself. He can work on cars, pour concrete and do carpentry, but he said many ConAgra workers have no skills.

&uot;I’m concerned about the people I know who only know factory work,&uot; he said. &uot;What are they going to do?&uot;

His wife, Jeanice, who has worked at the plant for 22 years, said many people like herself, who have hurt themselves or worn down their bodies on the job, will not able to find jobs elsewhere. &uot;If you go to a new factory and they find out you have a bad back or bad knees, they are not going to hire you,&uot; she said.

She also wondered about the elderly women at the plant who have spent 30 to 40 years there, and whether they’ll be able to find jobs.

Employee Sandy Lopez said the job market is already flooded with unemployed people and that adding around 200 more will make job-hunting difficult. Lopez said she doesn’t want to have to move to find work. &uot;She likes the school she’s going to,&uot; Lopez said, looking at her daughter, Elizabeth.

She said she also worries about losing benefits. &uot;Wages might not have been good, but the insurance was excellent,&uot; she said. Lopez makes $9.55 an hour at the plant.

She said Wednesday was a difficult day at work for everyone.

&uot;You saw people with tears,&uot; she said. &uot;A couple of women, I seen crying.&uot; She said the annoucement came as a surprise. &uot;What are we going to do? Everybody says hang on ’till the end.&uot;

The company has threatened to move before. In fact, this is the fourth time in the 13 years Lopez has worked for the plant, she said. The first three times, the city gave the company incentives to keep them in town. The last time was in 1994.

This time, Lopez said, a union representative told her the plan to move was real, not a ploy for incentives.

Patrick Neilon, a representative for the union, would not comment on the decision, but said the union would issue a statement, possibly this week.

Bob McKeon, a spokesman for ConAgra Foods, said the company was grateful for incentives given to them in the past that extended the life of the plant. He would not speculate on whether incentives would sway the company, and said questions about that missed the point.

&uot;This isn’t about incentives,&uot; he said. &uot;We’re well beyond our available capacity at the plant and we need to make a significant capital investment. But Wells is not conducive to the magnitude needed because of its size and age,&uot; he said. The company has been offered tax abatement to expand its Lufkin plant, but McKeon did not have the amount readily available.

He said the company will contact the state’s workforce office to see about arranging new employment for the workers.

The city administrator and members of the Wells City Council reached Wednesday were not familiar with past incentive deals with the company. They had not been told about the closing prior to Wednesday’s announcement, and had little knowledge about the situation.

Jack Carroll, a council member, said he wasn’t sure what the effect would be. He estimated that only 50 to 60 of the employees live in Wells.

But he said decreased enrollment in the area’s schools could be one effect, and that since ConAgra paid large sewer fees, that the city’s residents would have to pick up the slack.

Others had little comment. Council member Bob Gaines called the closing devastating, but he said he had to learn more before he could determine the impact on the town.

(Contact Tim Sturrock at tim.sturrock @albertleatribune.com or 379-3438.)