Nestle USA to Close Van Nuys Research Center

A unit of Nestle USA plans to close two food-product research centers, including one in Van Nuys that employs about 100 people, by the end of 1994.

The unit, Westreco Inc., will either transfer the workers to other facilities in Ohio and Connecticut, or offer severance packages and job-placement services, said Laurie MacDonald, a spokeswoman at Nestle USA’s headquarters in Glendale. Nestle USA is the domestic unit of the Swiss food giant Nestle SA.

The other Westreco facility affected is in Fulton, N.Y., where about 40 people work. Westreco is based in New Milford, Conn.

The Van Nuys research center was opened in 1953 by Carnation Co., which was acquired by Nestle in 1985.