Fort Smith bakery operation to close; 82 jobs lost (Updated)

Flowers Foods is closing Jan. 3 its Fort Smith baking plant in downtown Fort Smith, a move that will eliminate 48 full-time jobs and 34 “outsourced workers,” according to a company statement.
 
The bakery, a subsidiary of Flowers Foods, opened in May 2008 with one production line. It produced premium specialty breads that were shipped to Flowers’ markets in the Southeast.
 
“When we opened, we needed the production capacity to meet the growing demand for our premium breads,” explained Rick Williams, the bakery’s general manager. “We did not anticipate that Flowers would acquire a bakery in Florida later in the year that would have the capacity to make these breads much closer to our key markets. Due to transport costs, we had no choice but to close this bakery, even though we know it affects the lives and families of our employees.”
 
Williams said the company is providing a “generous severance package,” and will work with state and local agencies to provide employees with job counseling, resume preparation and letters of recommendation.
 
Williams said Fort Smith employees will be able to apply for positions at any other Flowers subsidiary and receive preferential consideration. Flowers’ bakeries operate as separate companies and each makes its own hiring decisions based on available jobs. Flowers currently has 38 other bakery subsidiaries around the country.

The bakery closed in December 2006, but was reopened in February 2008. The bakery was opened in 1921 by brothers Harry Shipley and Garvin Shipley and owned and operated by the Shipley family until its sale in 1996 to Flowers Foods.

More than 1,300 Fort Smith area job cuts have been announced in the past 90 days.