Keebler to Lay Off 150 at Bakery in Van Nuys

The Keebler Co. bakery in Van Nuys said it will lay off 150 of its 250 workers by March 11 in an effort to cut costs by shifting most of its production to other plants.

The Elmhurst, Ill.-based company said it found that most of the Van Nuys bakery’s products could be made less expensively at some of its nine other plants.

The Van Nuys plant now bakes seven to eight lines of cookies and crackers, but will cut all but one--its Wheatables crackers, Keebler spokeswoman Colleen Baran said.

Baran declined to discuss the terms of the layoffs. She said employees have been notified. The cutback affects workers in all areas of the plant’s operations, she said.

Keebler, owned by United Biscuit Holdings Plc of Isleworth, England, reported sales of $1.4 billion in 1989, Baran said.