JONESBORO — Nestle USA officials told employees Friday at the firm’s Jonesboro facility that operations will be curtailed and 70 full-time positions eliminated.
The facility’s work schedule will be reduced from six days per week to four days and the full-time positions eliminated on Feb. 11, said factory manager Dan Braswell.
Braswell said in a statement that all affected employees will receive separation benefits to ease their transition and will qualify for continuing health benefits through COBRA.
Nestle officials said in the statement that there are no plans to close the Jonesboro production facility. They cited increased prices for ingredients such as meat, dairy and grains, as well as the increased cost of fuel, for necessitating the measures.
The facility will continue to employ about 600 people.
When Nestle first announced its investment in Jonesboro in 2001, the company forecast it would create 1,000 jobs. In answer to the question of what happened to that figure, officials said that at the end of 2012, the company had reached an employment level of about 680 people in Jonesboro. But national economic turn downs, higher commodity costs resulting from drought conditions and higher fuel costs have hindered the anticipated growth of the business and subsequent addition of jobs, the company said in a statement.
Arkansas, Pages 19 on 01/27/2013