Palama Meat cuts as many as 38 workers
In yet another recent string of layoffs,
Palama Meat Co. filed notice with the state that it was letting go of 32 to 38 workers yesterday.
Palama Meat, founded in 1952 and based in Kapolei, is Hawaii's oldest meat-processing and wholesale business in the state. The layoffs represent a trimming of between 15 to 20 percent of Palama Meat's staff of about 200.
James Hardway, spokesman for the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, said a rapid response team would be meeting with workers at Palama yesterday afternoon. But he later said he wasn't authorized to confirm any layoffs.
William Loose, chief executive of Palama Meat Co., could not be reached for comment yesterday.
In 2003, Palama and its affiliated food-service distributor, H&W Foods, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but were acquired the following year by Loose and a California investment company for $14 million.
Palama Meat and H&W Foods merged in 1998 and a few years later were integrated into a single facility in Kapolei. The layoffs follow several others in recent weeks, including 59 workers at the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort and Hilton Waikoloa Village, 44 workers at Sea Life Park, 274 workers from Maui Land & Pineapple, and 81 workers from The Honolulu Advertiser.