RAPID RESPONSE FOR FARMER JOHN PLANT CLOSURE

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

In June of 2022 Farmer John/Smithfield Foods, which produces 85% of the pork in California and is best known for the L.A. Dodger Dog, announced the anticipated closure of their long-standing Vernon-based meat processing plant in early 2023, after nearly 90 years of providing jobs to over 2,000 Los Angeles County and City residents resulting in significant job loss for the region. On June 14, 2022 in response to this announcement, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (BOS) adopted a motion directing the Chief Executive Office (CEO), working with the Departments of Economic Opportunity (DEO), Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA), and the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), to develop an action plan to assist the affected employees with enhanced job training and job placement in response to the impending closure of the Farmer John facility in the City of Vernon. Collaborating with local agencies, County departments and the unions representing the affected employees (UFCW 770 and Teamsters Local 63), DEO organized a series of events to assist the affected Farmer John employees transition through the difficulty of being laid-off and minimize the effects to them and their families.