WINDOM, Minn. — HyLife Foods sent a letter to employees this week warning them they will be losing their jobs if the company cannot find a potential buyer. The letter said layoffs could begin as early as Monday, and last through June 2. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture was in Windom to offer support and help to the city and plant.
“I think some of us in town heard rumblings and saw it coming,” River City restaurant owner, Andy Harries said. “It’s well-paying jobs for a lot of people.”
Windom is a town of roughly 5,000. HyLife Foods employs 1,003 people.
“It’s our top employer in the area. I hope they can find a buyer,” City Administrator Steve Nasby said.
Nasby says the plant facility dates back to the 1950s. It has been through a few different corporate hands including the Taylor Corporation, owned by Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. Taylor Corp bought the plant in 2016 and says they invested $20 million into the meat facility to make it a pork processing plant, naming it Pork Prime.
In 2020, Taylor Corp sold the majority of the company to the Canadian-based HyLife Foods. In a release announcing the sale, Glen Taylor said:
“With this new partner and leadership, I am confident this partnership will be great for the community, employees, and area producers. Prime Pork’s location in southern Minnesota provides an abundance of resources, securing hog supply and the other raw materials required to operate a processing facility efficiently.”
HyLife Foods survived the pandemic but is needing to sell the plant due to inflation, grain prices, foreign exchange, and operation losses, it said.
HyLife employees are not represented by a union. HyLife denied KARE 11 an interview due to a lack of availability but sent this statement from CEO Grant Lazaruk:
“Our industry has been facing unprecedented external challenges such as inflation, high grain costs, and exchange rates that are affecting businesses and consumers alike. As a result, we have had to make some difficult decisions.
In 2020, when we purchased the plant in Windom, Minnesota, our goal was to turn the operations around. Our vision, investments, and strong community involvement are a testament that we intended to be here for the long run.
On April 10, 2023, we shared that our leadership has been working to sell this facility to ensure that the business continues and is properly capitalized for the future.
This means we intend to continue producing high-quality products while this sales process plays out. We want to sincerely thank our team. This is an extremely hard week, and we are unquestionably sad. We are doing our best to share the information we currently have.”
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