Green Mountain to Lay Off 110 Employees in North America

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is laying off 74 full-time production and support staff at its Castroville, Calif., and Toronto, Ontario, facilities. The company is also laying off 36 seasonal employees at production facilities in Toronto and Montreal.

The company says the layoffs — which represent less than 2 percent of GMCR’s workforce — are intended to “enhance manufacturing and logistics efficiency” among its nine North American K-Cup® pack and Vue® pack production locations. In a company announcement to investors, GMCR says it expects a one-time pre-tax charge of $600,000 to $650,000 related to the layoffs. Although the company did not say whether all full-time employees would receive cash, that works out to $8,108 to $8,783 per full-time employee being dismissed.

“We recognize the impact these actions have on our employees and their families and intend to support them through the transition process,” said GMCR President and CEO Brian Kelley. “We appreciate and value the importance of reliable employment at all of our locations. While we have consistently supplemented our regular production work force with seasonal employees, as we continue to grow and create more jobs, we expect the ratio of flexible production and support employees to regular work force will increase as we work to drive efficiency during peak periods across our North American manufacturing base.”

The layoffs are expected to be complete by May 11.