Thursday, December 8, 2011

Cargill Meat Solutions in Wichita has laid off 50 people from its local facility.

Company spokesperson Mike Martin says the affected employees will remain on the job until Jan. 6. He also says they will receive a severance package, COBRA heath care coverage and assistance in finding a new job.

“It’s always difficult having to make these decisions. It’s something we had preferred not having to do,” he says. “We’re going to do all we can to support them in this transition.”

There are no plans for any more reductions at this time, he says.

Martin says the layoffs are part of Minneapolis-based Cargill Inc. ’s stated plan to trim its 138,000-person global work force by about 2,000.

Here is a press release from Cargill about the layoffs, which cites the need to reduce costs in the face of weakness in the global economy.

The 50 layoffs in Wichita, which is headquarters for Cargill Meat Solutions, represent about 5 percent of the company’s 1,000-person local work force.