Vlasic to Close City of Industry Pickle Plant : Food: The company says the plant was underutilized. Up to 180 workers face layoffs.

The nation’s economic problems are taking a bite out of California’s pickle business, as the state’s largest pickle producer announced Thursday that it will shut its plant in City of Industry and move its pickle packing out of the state.

The plant, which is southeast of downtown Los Angeles, has the most excess capacity of all the company’s factories, said Vlasic Foods Inc. spokesman Kevin Lowery. As a result, Vlasic decided to close the plant as part of a nationwide plan to increase productivity and reduce costs.

The plant is scheduled to close on March 31, 1993, laying off up to 180 hourly and salaried workers.

Vlasic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Campbell Soup Co., has experienced little growth in the last year as consumers focus on main courses rather than condiments, Lowery said.

Vlasic is the No. 1 producer of shelf-stable pickles in the United States. The company has seven condiment plants, three of which produce pickles. Campbell had $6.3 billion in sales last year. Sales figures for Vlasic were not available.

Since the beginning of 1990, Campbell and its subsidiaries have closed plants and cut their work force by 15% to control costs and increase productivity, said Ellen G. Baras, an industry analyst with Duff & Phelps in Chicago. The company has undergone a program to cut costs and increase manufacturing efficiency, Baras said.

Lowery said Campbell has closed 20 plants worldwide in the last four years.

According to Baras, pickles are a very small part of the food industry. “I wouldn’t say pickles are exactly a growth category,” Baras said.

Other food packers that are having economic difficulty are leaving the state because of the cost of workers’ compensation benefits, said Lawrence K. Taber, president of the California League of Food Processors.

“The regulatory burden is awesome,” Taber said.

Vlasic officials, however, said state regulations were not part of their decision to move operations.

Vlasic will negotiate a severance plan with local labor representatives and help the plant’s 180 employees take advantage of government retraining and placement services.

Some of the plant’s 30 salaried workers will be offered positions at other Campbell facilities.

Lowery said the company would accept applications from the laid-off employees at its Oriental noodle processing plant in City of Industry, if that facility needed additional workers.

Vlasic acquired the plant in 1976. Besides pickles, it also produces peppers and relish. Campbell operates seven other plants in California, employing more than 3,600 workers who produce soup, pasta, spaghetti sauce, mushrooms, tomato paste, frozen foods and olives.