A Southwest Florida manufacturing facility that has produced shelf-stable fruit juice products for schools, health care providers, airlines and other institutional customers is preparing to shut down, resulting in the loss of 135 jobs in Lee County.
Peterson Brands, a subsidiary of Michigan-based Peterson Farms, has filed a WARN notice with the state of Florida announcing plans to permanently close its Fort Myers facility at 9910 Bavaria Road. According to the filing, all affected employees are expected to lose their jobs by June 27 as part of a total plant shutdown.
Permanent shutdown planned
The closure affects the company’s juice packaging operation in Fort Myers, which specializes in aseptically packaged fruit juice products sold to health care facilities, schools, military organizations, airlines, cruise lines and other foodservice customers. Company officials described the move as a permanent shutdown of the facility.
The WARN notice did not provide a specific reason for the closure, and company representatives did not immediately respond to requests for additional details about the decision.
Workers across multiple departments affected
The layoffs span a wide range of positions throughout the operation. Impacted employees include machine operators, maintenance technicians, warehouse personnel, food safety and quality assurance staff, production supervisors, logistics specialists, human resources personnel and administrative workers…