Foremost Farms to sell Rothschild plant, laying off 110 workers

ROTHSCHILD - Foremost Farms USA plans to sell its Rothschild facility in May and will lay off 110 workers in the process, according to a state Department of Workforce Development announcement.

Foremost notified the state by letter on Monday that it will sell the plant to Kerry Biofunctional Ingredients.

The letter said the layoffs will occur on May 7, or within 14 days after that day. The jobs targeted for the layoffs are both production and administrative positions.

Foremost Farms USA, headquartered in Baraboo, is a farmer-owned milk processing and marketing cooperative. Kerry Biofunctional Ingredients manufactures and distributes ingredients for food manufacturers and is based in Norwich, New York, according to Bloomberg.com.

RELATED:  Linetec named Manufacturer of the Year

RELATED:  Baldwin to Kimberly-Clark: Layoffs 'not fair'

Production employees are members of the Teamsters Local 662 based in Mosinee. Bumping rights, in which a more experienced worker can take the position of a lesser-experienced worker, may not be exercised, the letter states.

Office employees affected are not represented by a union.

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Dislocated Worker Program will provide information about programs and resources to the workers. It also will provide pre-layoff workshops on topics such as resume writing and interviewing, job search strategies and budgeting.