SARANAC, Mich. — About 400 workers at five Ionia County farms are learning they're out of a job as part of a mass layoff from Herbruck's Poultry Ranch.
The company notified Michigan's Department of Labor Wednesday that avian flu hit the farms' hen population, so workers at farms in Saranac and Lake Odessa will be out of work.
The company said many of these job cuts are expected to be temporary, and they plan to rehire many positions as soon as their hen and egg production increases.
An estimated 400 people in employee or contractor positions will be cut. Here's the list of positions:
- Accounting
- Coordinator
- Clerk
- Freed Mill
- Fertilizer
- Human Resources
- Maintenance I-IV
- Manager
- Marketing
- Processing I-IV
- Production I-IV
- Q/A Technician
- Sanitation
- Supervisor
- Warehouse
Herbruck's released a statement on the layoffs Thursday:
“In the face of ongoing efforts to address the detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza alongside state and federal regulators, Herbruck’s has reached the difficult decision to conduct layoffs at the affected facilities where work is not available. We expect this to largely be temporary, as we plan to rehire many positions as we work to repopulate our facilities and continue egg production as safely and quickly as possible. We understand this is a stressful situation for our team members, and we are working with our state partners to provide them with resources, answer questions and assist in their individual family situations.”
RELATED: MI Dept. of Agriculture and Rural Development issues emergency order amid avian flu outbreak
Herbruck's describes itself as Michigan's largest egg producer.
As the Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu (HPAI) continues to pose a threat, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) announced earlier this month that it is issuing an emergency order to protect local livestock.
What MDARD is calling a "HPAI Risk Reduction Response Order" is set to put in place a number of new requirements to try to keep local dairy and commercial poultry supplies safe.
Included in the measures, these places must designate a biosecurity manager and a line of separation to limit access points to secure areas.
They must also have cleaning and disinfection in place for those access points and log everyone who entered through those points.
Director of MDARD Tim Boring told 13 ON YOUR SIDE this is, "probably the largest response that our department has ever had to a disease outbreak here in the state."
He said Thursday, at last check, there are 7 infected commercial flocks and 14 dairy farms across the state.
"We've seen a significant hit to poultry here in Michigan, both egg-laying operations and turkey. The true extent of those economic implications is something we're continuing to assess. We might not have seen the peak of this at this point," said Boring.
Thanks to national supply he said you don't have to worry right now about finding eggs or turkey at the grocery store. However, Boring did say, "I think it's logical to expect some ramifications on prices on shelves."
State Representative for the 92nd House District and dairy farmer Jerry Neyer said while his farm hasn't been hit by the bird flu, he's being cautious. He's a part of a group of legislators that meets with MDARD about the situation routinely.
Big questions that remain right now, he said Thursday: How is the disease spreading and what are effective treatments?
For more information on current bird flu statistics from the USDA, click here.
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