The company told the Texas Workforce Commission it’s consolidating its Lone Star State operations to a lone Rio Grande Valley plant.
SAN ANTONIO — Canada-based vegetable grower and distributor Pure Flavor plans to shut down its northeast-San Antonio facility in the coming weeks, potentially resulting in loss of employment for its 80 employees.
Pure Flavor, which operates two facilities in Texas, notified the state’s workforce commission on Oct. 28 that it’s “planning a permanent plant closing” for the site located at 9610 Ball St. by the end of the year.
“This action will result from the consolidation of operations and the relocation of work to our Edinburg, TX facility,” that letter to state officials reads, adding that the lease on the Alamo City plant ends in April.
Pure Flavor representatives told the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) that employees at the San Antonio plant are being offered “equivalent positions” at the Edinburg location. But it’s expected that those who don’t want to transfer to that plant more than 200 miles away will be laid off.
Most of the affected employees job titles fall under “general labor.” Other impacted positions include technicians, forklift operators, quality control inspectors, sanitation workers, shipping supervisors and warehouse leaders.
The company told the TWC that the San Antonio employees have been made aware of the plans, but it’s unknown how long those workers have to notify Pure Flavor about their transfer decision.
Based in Leamington, Ontario, Pure Flavor touts itself as using “advance technology to create ideal conditions for every crop,” including tomatoes, peppers and berries. The company started in 2003, according to its website, and expanded to Texas in 2010; it has other facilities in Illinois and Georgia.