Biddeford food processor will lay off nearly 100, as owner changes course
A Biddeford food processing facility plans to lay off 93 employees, or roughly two-thirds of its workforce.
Growers Express LLC, a Salinas, Calif.-based produce supplier that operates the plant, recently notified the Maine Department of Labor about the impending job cuts, but few details are available.
The company filed the WARN notice, or Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, on Dec. 29. The notice is required at least three months in advance of mass layoffs or plant closures by large employers.
Growers Express did not respond to queries by Mainebiz for more information. The Biddeford facility, at 20 Morin St., employs 140, according to a March 2019 Facebook post.
The company, founded in 1987, cultivates and distributes over 30 types of vegetables and related products, and holds the master license to supply fresh produce for the well-known Green Giant brand.
The 55,000-square-foot Biddeford plant opened in 2015 and was owned by Curran Co., which Growers Express acquired in 2016.
But over the past year, in two deals, Growers Express has sold its fresh produce business to another California agriculture company, Church Brothers Farms. The most recent sale closed in January.
The Biddeford plant was not included in either sale, according to a press release last month. But it’s not clear how the facility fits into its owner’s new business direction.
While it plans to work with Church Brothers in the fresh produce market, Growers Express is looking to grow elsewhere.
The company’s president, Tom Byrne, said in the Jan. 8 release, “This is a mutually beneficial scenario that allows us to focus on our frozen vegetable business while we partner with Church Brothers and other vegetable growers to expand into new products and categories.”
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