US-based organic food company Amy's Kitchen is set to lay off more than 300 jobs in its domestic market.
According to WARN filings made by the soup and meals maker, the company is making 311 staff redundant in California.
In a statement sent to Just Food, Amy’s Kitchen pointed to macro pressures affecting the business.
“This decision was extremely difficult, and we were saddened to have to say goodbye to some of our valued team members. Like all food companies, we are navigating industry headwinds, so we made this strategic decision to rebalance our business."
The WARN filings show the lay-offs will affect staff at two sites in Santa Rosa in California. Local reports suggest some remote workers are also affected.
The layoffs, according to local publication North Bay Business Journal, will affect managers, clerical staff, and assembly line workers. The move will be carried out in phases.
Amy’s Kitchen appointed long-serving executive Paul Schiefer as its new president amid leadership reshuffle in April 2023.
Schiefer, who has worked at the frozen meals supplier for 16 years, previously held the title of interim president of Amy’s Drive-Thru, the company’s meatless drive-thru chain. He was also vice president of impact and communications.
Schiefer reports directly to the company’s co-founder Andy Berliner, who became CEO of Amy’s Kitchen once more in 2021 following the departure of Xavier Unkovic.
Established in 1987, Amy's Kitchen is known for its organic and family-owned approach to producing soups and frozen meals.
This latest wave of redundancies follows the closure two years ago of a facility in San José.
Privately-owned Amy’s Kitchen leased the factory in San Jose a year earlier to meet the rising demand for its pizza products, which had been boosted by changes in consumer habits during the pandemic.
However, announcing the closure, the company said supply-chain disruption and “abrupt” cost increases meant the site was losing money.