Blue Bell lays off 1,450 workers, furloughs 1,400 more

[TexasTowelie]

Brenham-based Blue Bell Creameries said Friday it was laying off 1,450 workers and furloughing 1,400 more in light of a listeria outbreak that has idled operations at its four production facilities and sparked a nationwide recall of 8 million gallons of frozen treats.

About 750 of the workers being laid off are full-time, CEO Paul Kruse said a written statement, with the remaining 700 classified as part-time.

The company has almost 4,000 workers nationwide, including 900 in Brenham, where it is the city’s largest private employer.

Some remaining workers will see their hours and pay slashed.

Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/business/blue-bell-furloughs-1450-workers/nmHNs/

Cross-posted in LBN. See thread for an additional article that appeared in the Dallas Morning News that provides further details.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141094726

[SoCalNative]

1. So because the company

couldn't be bothered to ensure food safety, now they have to cut their workforce.

[yeoman6987]

3. I suppose it's hard to pay someone with no money coming in

I am sure that between taking all the ice cream off the shelf and having ice cream refunded from past purchases plus a delay in getting inventory restocked hurt the bottom line big time. I know some think money grows on trees but that was found to be false during our teen years by our parents.

[Warpy]

4. Well, unless some food conglomerate buys them out

which might happen.

Too bad, it was pretty good ice cream. It wasn't Breyer's, but it was good.

[dwilso40641]

2. It's management

that decides how much cleaning gets done. In the name of austerity personnel are reduced and time to clean is cut back.
That way they have more money for bonuses.

[Sherman A1]

5. Precisely

There could be isolated issues that were caused by a worker or workers, but something of this scale was caused by a management decision or policy to cut corners to improve profits.