Dive Brief:
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One of the largest egg companies in the U.S. is laying off roughly one-third of its workforce after a bird flu outbreak disrupted production.
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Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch notified Michigan’s government last week that 400 employees and contractors will lose their jobs as the company looks to rebuild its hen population following the deaths of millions of birds in April.
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Herbruck’s plans to refill “many” positions once flock levels and production have returned to normal levels, Stephanie Kempa, Herbruck’s chief human resources officer, said in a letter to the state’s labor department dated May 15.
Dive Insight:
Michigan has been one of the states hardest hit by bird flu, and the outbreak has disrupted both poultry growers and the dairy sector as the virus spreads to cattle. Three more Michigan dairies reported positive detections of bird flu this week even as the state enhances biosecurity and travel restriction orders.
For Herbruck’s, the outbreak has decimated egg supply. In April, roughly 6.5 million commercial egg layers died as a result of avian influenza in Ionia County, Michigan, where some of Herbruck’s farms are located.
In response to the disruption, the company began a mass layoff last week at five egg facilities across Saranac and Lake Odessa, affecting employees in accounting, human resources and manager roles, as well as processing and sanitation.
The cuts are expected to be “largely temporary, with some permanent, and will affect many hourly and salaried employees as well as contractors,” Kempa wrote in the letter. Details about the separation dates were not disclosed, but there are plans to refill positions once stocks of hens and egg production increase.
Herbruck’s has more than 1,100 employees across several egg facilities in Michigan and Pennsylvania. The company is considered the biggest egg producer in Michigan and the 10th largest in the U.S.