Simplot plant in Heyburn, ID will close 5 months early idling all 263 employees.

Deteriorating market conditions have prompted the J.R. Simplot Co. to move up the shutdown of its local processing plant by five months.

The company announced this week that instead of operating until April, the Heyburn plant will close around Nov. 1, idling all 263 employees.

Simplot indicated a year ago that the market for frozen potato products would dictate the eventual end of Heyburn operations, and spokesman Fred Zerza said demand for frozen potatoes has not improved while the company now has more economical facilities for specialty products.

“The market for frozen potato products remains flat, at best,” Zerza said. “There was speculation the plant wouldn´t continue to operate until April. There had been considerable rumors and talk about that within the plant. At least the date is now known.

“I don´t know that it was regarded as favorable,” he said. “But we said as soon as we decided we would tell employees, and we did.”

Simplot will continue to operate its warehouse and truck terminal in Heyburn. They employ 122 people.

Since November, however, the community has lost 340 Simplot jobs with the previous closures of the ethanol plant, the main french fry processing line and a specialty processing line. That is on top of the 263 people who will have work for just three more months.

Zerza said the company wants to keep the remaining processing line running at full capacity into the fall to handle this year´s harvest and is offering employees bonuses to stay on the job until the end. The bonuses will be based on length of service.

He said some employees could be offered jobs at other Simplot plants, specifically citing the need for certain skilled workers at the Aberdeen plant.

Simplot will meet all grower contracts this season, Zerza said, but no decision has been made about whether the company will negotiate contracts with local growers next year.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/Business/story.asp?ID=45770