Simplot to cut up to 800 Idaho jobs
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The J.R. Simplot Co. is planning to build a new potato processing plant in Caldwell. But it's coming at a cost for the company's employees elsewhere in Idaho. Company executives announced Wednesday plans to build a 380,000-square-foot facility designed to help keep Simplot competitive. Officials say the new facility in Caldwell means the company will shut down older plants in Aberdeen and Nampa in the next two or three years, resulting in the loss of fewer than 800 jobs. Spokesman David Cuoio says competitors have better plants that are more efficient and Simplot needs to modernize to keep pace. The new facility will be built on the site of the company's original potato processing plant in Caldwell. Executives are not releasing the cost of the new plant.
