Ruiz Foods is closing down its processing plant in Tulare after 20 years.
The move comes one year after moving its manufacturing headquarters to Texas.
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The big picture: Ruiz Foods, the largest manufacturer of Mexican food in the nation, said in a statement last week that the Tulare facility is too small.
- The Tulare facility would need substantial investment to meet the company’s manufacturing needs to remain a viable part of the company.
- The plant will close between Aug. 30 and Sep. 13.
Go deeper: Ruiz Foods currently employs 215 people at the Tulare facility, according to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notification.
- Some of the employees will have the option to transfer to the company’s facility in Dinuba.
What they’re saying: Ruiz Foods spokesperson Paula Wright told the Sun Gazette that the facility was opened in 2004 to serve as an extension to the Dinuba plant.
- It was never intended to last this long as it was originally a short-term option.
- “It was never supposed to last 20 years,” Wright told the Sun Gazette. “It was actually an extension of our Dinuba plant, which is one of our core plants – it’s a much bigger plant.”
- Wright told the paper that there will be an opportunity for employees to transfer to facilities in South Carolina and Texas as well.
