Jan 18, 2007 1:43 pm US/Mountain
Swift To Eliminate 58 Jobs, Leave 12 Unfilled
By Sandy Shore, AP Business Writer
GREELEY, Colo. (AP) ―
Swift & Co., one of the nation's largest meatpacking companies, said Thursday it has laid off 58 employees at its corporate offices and has taken other cost-cutting steps to improve its competitive edge.
The layoffs represented about 10 percent of Swift's corporate staff and took effect immediately. They involved nonunion employees who will receive severance, continued health benefits and help in finding new jobs, the company said
Swift also will not fill 12 vacant jobs at its headquarters and will cut costs for such items as contract services and professional fees.
Swift President and CEO Sam Rovit said the moves were unrelated to immigration raids at six of the company's plants last month. He said the cuts had been in the works since last fall.
Federal immigration authorities rounded up 1,297 workers at Swift plants in Colorado, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas and Utah on Dec. 12. The company said earlier this month that the raids could cost the company up to $30 million due to recruitment and training costs for new employees.
"Operationally, we are well on our way to recovery (from the raids), and we remain confident in our financial position," Rovit said in a statement. "We anticipate no continuing impact on our business beyond May of this year."
The cost cuts are expected to generate up to $15 million in net annualized savings by May, the end of the company's fiscal year. Swift spokesman Sean McHugh said the company has not released details of severance costs.
The layoffs were first reported in Thursday's editions of the Greeley Tribune.
With more than $9 billion in annual sales, Swift is one of the world's largest meat processing operations. It has 500 employees at its Greeley corporate headquarters and a total of 20,000 worldwide.
It is privately held with publicly issued debt.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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