YAKIMA — A saturated hop market has prompted Roy Farms in Moxee to issue layoff notices, said company CEO and President John Erb.
“It means reduction, it means pain, it means struggle,” he said.
A total of 129 workers will be laid off April 15, according to a notice from the state Employment Security Department.
Erb said his human resources department is working to connect those who will be laid off to employment services. He also said his company has already linked about half of the laid off workers to jobs.
“A lot of the folks on that list, we already have jobs for so we’ve been actively working on winding things up for people,” he said.
Erb said the layoffs represent about 30% of his workers.
Roy Farms has 8,000 acres of apples, cherries and blueberries and hops.
There are several factors contributing to a saturated market, he said.
The beer market has gone flat while prices have climbed. Niche markets, such as craft beers, are also creating a shift in demand as specialty hops impact the larger market, he said.
Erb said he’s not the only operation in the Yakima Valley facing such a dilemma, but his layoffs are more obvious because of his company’s relatively large size.
“Some growers they’re not getting any contracts at all, zero,” he said. “So what are they going to do?”
