Blue Bell Creameries announced on Friday that it plans to lay off 37 percent or 1,450 of its workers and reduce salary pay for the remaining employees following the Listeria outbreak that led to a recall of all of its products. Four states have confirmed Listeria illnesses and three have died in Kansas.
The U.S. ice cream producer said that it will have to let go 750 full-time workers and 700 part-timers, as well as furlough about 1,400 employees. It had stopped its operations since last month and there is no date yet on when the company plans to resume its operations, according to USA TODAY.
"The agonizing decision to lay off hundreds of our great workers and reduce hours and pay for others was the most difficult one I have had to make in my time as Blue Bell's CEO and president," Paul Kruse said in a written statement.
"At Blue Bell, our employees are part of our family, and we did everything we could to keep people on our payroll for as long as possible. At the same time, we have an obligation to do what is necessary to bring Blue Bell back and ensure its viability in the future.
"This is a sad day for all of us at Blue Bell, and for me personally," he added.
The massive layoff is the first on Blue Bell's 108 years of operations. The company made the decision since it would take longer than initially expected to clean and improve its four production plants. It might take them weeks or months to wrap up everything. Blue Bell has already exhausted other efforts to reduce costs such as conserving electricity and canceling contracts but they weren't enough to keep the business.
"Once we dug in and saw what was needed to prepare the plants in a way that we would have confidence in our products when we come back, the timelines grew,” Joe Robertson, a Blue Bell spokesman, told The Wall Street Journal.
While it's going pretty bad for Blue Bell, it opens an opportunity for small businesses like Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. The small frozen desserts maker announced on Thursday that it is resuming its operations beginning May 22.
