Blue Bell lays off 1,450 workers; 1,400 more furloughed

Scott Noll | KHOU-TV, Houston

Show Caption Hide Caption Blue Bell announces layoffs Blue Bell Creameries will lay off hundreds of workers and reduce hours and pay for others in wake of its voluntary recall last month of all ice cream.

BRENHAM, Texas — Blue Bell Creameries will lay off hundreds of workers and reduce hours and pay for others in wake of its voluntary recall last month of all of its ice cream, the company announced Friday.

Almost 4 in 10 in the Blue Bell workforce of 3,900 will lose their jobs. That's 750 full-time employees and 700 part-time workers. Another 1,400 employees will be furloughed.

"The agonizing decision to lay off hundreds of our great workers and reduce hours and pay for others was the most difficult one I have had to make in my time as Blue Bell's CEO and president," Paul Kruse said in a written statement.

The process of cleaning and improving Blue Bell's four production plants is going to take longer than expected, especially at the main plant here, he said.

"At Blue Bell, our employees are part of our family, and we did everything we could to keep people on our payroll for as long as possible," Kruse said. "At the same time, we have an obligation to do what is necessary to bring Blue Bell back and ensure its viability in the future.

"This is a sad day for all of us at Blue Bell, and for me personally," he said.

The decision comes a day after the company announced agreements with Oklahoma and Texas to requiring notification to state officials whenever a positive test result for listeria in its products or ingredients appears.

Blue Bell ice cream has been off the market since last month when the company voluntarily recalled all of its products after additional samples tested positive for listeria. It had had limited recalls of items in previous weeks for the same problem.

Ten illnesses in four states, including three deaths in Kansas, are now linked to the ice cream.

The illness, called listeriosis, generally affects only the elderly, people with compromised immune systems, pregnant women and their newborn infants. All three who died in the Blue Bell outbreak already were in a hospital for other conditions.

Listeria is the third leading cause of death from food poisoning, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Blue Bell has no firm timeline to begin making ice cream again. The company expects to phase in production over time, and for a year officials have agreed to hold onto each batch of ice cream until test results for listeria come back negative.