Aurora Foods to close;
150-plus would be idled
YUBA CITY 11/1/02 - Aurora Foods, Inc. plans to close its frozen food processing plant in Yuba City by Jan. 1 and lay off 155 employees in a cost-cutting measure, the firm announced.
The plant, formerly known as Avalon Bay Foods, "is the seventh or eight biggest food processers in the region," Tim Johnson, executive director of the Yuba-Sutter Economic Development Corp., said Friday.
"Anytime a multinational company of this magnitude closes it has an impact. It's always a blow to the men and women people who lose their jobs just before the holidays," Johnson said.
Typical wages for employees of similar food processing plants in the region averaged $15 per hour, with additional medical, vision and retirement benefits, Johnson said.'
"I would consider these family wage incomes," Johnson said.
The Aurora plant, located on North Epley Drive in Yuba City, processed frozen fish products for brands as Mrs. Paul's and Chefs Choice, was closed Friday. No one was available for further comment.
The closure - which could cost an estimated $7 million -- is reportedly part of an economic consolidation that calls for some of the Yuba City operations to be transferred to a facility in Tennessee and others to be contracted out.
The web site for the St. Louis-based company, reported a net loss of $556,000, or a penny a share in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of $3.2 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier. Net sales fell to $184.9 million from $200.8 million.
Johnson said he believed the Aurora shutdown stemmed from factors within the company itself, not from economic faults in the Yuba-Sutter area.
Last year alone, a 10 percent economic growth rate was posted for the Yuba-Sutter area, Johnson reported.
"I have more inquiries coming in than I can handle," Johnson said, listing several large corporations that have scouted the area for potential site locations.
He declined to name any interested food processing firms.
150-plus would be idled
YUBA CITY 11/1/02 - Aurora Foods, Inc. plans to close its frozen food processing plant in Yuba City by Jan. 1 and lay off 155 employees in a cost-cutting measure, the firm announced.
The plant, formerly known as Avalon Bay Foods, "is the seventh or eight biggest food processers in the region," Tim Johnson, executive director of the Yuba-Sutter Economic Development Corp., said Friday.
"Anytime a multinational company of this magnitude closes it has an impact. It's always a blow to the men and women people who lose their jobs just before the holidays," Johnson said.
Typical wages for employees of similar food processing plants in the region averaged $15 per hour, with additional medical, vision and retirement benefits, Johnson said.'
"I would consider these family wage incomes," Johnson said.
The Aurora plant, located on North Epley Drive in Yuba City, processed frozen fish products for brands as Mrs. Paul's and Chefs Choice, was closed Friday. No one was available for further comment.
The closure - which could cost an estimated $7 million -- is reportedly part of an economic consolidation that calls for some of the Yuba City operations to be transferred to a facility in Tennessee and others to be contracted out.
The web site for the St. Louis-based company, reported a net loss of $556,000, or a penny a share in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of $3.2 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier. Net sales fell to $184.9 million from $200.8 million.
Johnson said he believed the Aurora shutdown stemmed from factors within the company itself, not from economic faults in the Yuba-Sutter area.
Last year alone, a 10 percent economic growth rate was posted for the Yuba-Sutter area, Johnson reported.
"I have more inquiries coming in than I can handle," Johnson said, listing several large corporations that have scouted the area for potential site locations.
He declined to name any interested food processing firms.
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