San Diego INDUSTRY NOTES

Bumble Bee Seafoods, which is headquartered in San Diego, said Wednesday it will lay off approximately 120 workers, or 40% of its work force, at its Santa Fe Springs tuna canning facility effective March 27.

The layoffs are part of a move to “minimize increases in production costs” at the facility that employs a new tuna loining process that is in the development stage.

The process “has not fully achieved the manufacturing cost reductions initially expected,” the company said in a release. Bumble Bee Seafoods says it is the second largest selling brand of tuna in the United States.

Bumble Bee Seafoods’ 120 employees at its San Diego corporate headquarters will not be affected by the layoffs, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.