Nabisco to Lay Off 100 Workers at Oxnard Plant : Business: The company’s move comes in response to plans to relocate production of A-1 Steak Sauce and Grey Poupon Mustard.

Nabisco Foods has announced plans to lay off about 100 local employees who make the world’s supply of A-1 Steak Sauce and Grey Poupon Mustard when the company moves production to the East Coast next year.

Company spokesman Hank Sandbach said about 85 hourly employees and 15 salaried supervisors will lose their jobs when Nabisco shuts down the two product lines at its Oxnard factory in the summer of 1996.

Although Sandbach said the 3rd Street factory is not losing money, he said relocating production will reduce the cost of shipping the mustard and steak sauce.

“The reason for [the relocation] is to move the production closer to our customer base,” Sandbach said Wednesday from New Jersey, where Nabisco is headquartered. “The majority of our customers are east of the Mississippi. It just makes sense to do that.”

According to Sandbach, the Oxnard facility employs a total of 550 permanent and seasonal workers. He added that Nabisco has no plans to close the plant’s chili pepper and wine vinegar production lines.

Many workers said they were shocked when plant Manager I. D. Neel recently called a meeting and told them about the company’s decision to move the mustard and sauce operations.

Delia Rivera, a quality control employee, attended Tuesday’s Oxnard City Council meeting with about 40 other Nabisco workers to enlist city officials in a campaign to keep the production in California.

Rivera said she started working at the plant when she was 17.

“I’ve been there since 1967,” said Rivera, 45. “That’s half of my life. We built the reputation of A-1. . . . The company should stay here.”

John Merrill, a 33-year-old operator who has worked at the plant for 15 years, said he is worried about losing his job in today’s economy.

“I have kids, my house, my car,” he said. “I’d be on the unemployment line and starting all over.”

John Gonzales, an organizer with Teamsters Local 186, the union representing many Nabisco employees, said he fears that the number of lost jobs could be closer to 200. He also complained that company officials had told employees that the plant was profitable, and said many workers do not understand why Nabisco now wants to shut down the two product lines.

“The only reason they are telling us is that the cost is too high to export their products back east,” Gonzales said. “If the company is making money, why is it moving?”

A flyer circulated Wednesday by the Teamsters also states that some workers believe that the company’s decision is a response to complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Thirty current and former female employees at the Oxnard factory have accused the food giant of restricting their restroom privileges to the point that some said they were forced to wear diapers on the job.

Nabisco officials have denied any wrongdoing, but have modified the plant’s restroom policy.

Sandbach said Wednesday that the company’s decision to move production to the East Coast was an economic one and had nothing to do with the complaint or a subsequent class-action lawsuit.

“It is utterly unrelated,” he said, “totally unrelated.”

Gonzales said he believes that the suit “could play some role,” but declined to speculate further.

Gonzales said the union has already contacted its Washington officials and plans to enlist the support of city officials to keep the production lines in Oxnard. The union has also scheduled a rally in front of the 3rd Street plant next Wednesday.

“The jobs aren’t out there,” Gonzales said. “It will be hell for people to go out and try to find suitable jobs. This job has been their life.”

Sandbach said the company has not decided whether to move a replacement product line to Oxnard.

Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez said the city plans to continue discussions with Nabisco.

“I am sure that we will emphasize the importance of their presence here to the city and the contributions they have made,” Lopez said. “Of course, it’s a corporate decision.”