Yreka, Ca.- Fruit Growers Supply Company closed its’ Yreka mill Monday. It originally opened in 2016 and was the first mill built in California in more than 30 years.
The closure on Monday, less than a full year after it became fully operational, happened on the same day that 35 workers at the mill learned they were out of a job.
“The mill proved to be not economically viable due to higher than anticipated input costs and lower than anticipated productivity on log utilization rates,” a Fruit Growers company representative explained.
As a result, 35 mill workers are frustrated and without a job. They say that they were given no prior notice of Monday’s lay off. But Fruit Growers Mill corporate offices in Southern California say that the severance packages employees got should help to make up for that.
The 35 employees severance packages include, “One month salary, two months full coverage of insurance, 3 months of job placement assistance and resume assistance associated with those 3 months,” Fruit Growers Company says.
Fruit Growers corporate says that all 35 employees laid off signed onto the severance package deal.
The mill in Yreka is no longer processing logs. But, the distribution of the mill’s product will continue until its supplies are gone.
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