New Columbia Fruit Packers will close its apple packing plant in Yakima, Wash., in August and expects to lay off about 200 employees.

The company announced the development with a news release on May 30.

“The current market conditions have created a challenging situation for our industry,” said Brett Reasor, CEO of New Columbia Fruit Packers.

“As a result, we are making the strategic decision to streamline our operations, which will better position ourselves for the future,” he added, in the news release.

The company will consolidate its apple packing operations at its East Wenatchee facility.

One main layoff will occur in mid-August and another smaller layoff will follow in November after winding down packing operations.

A small number of employees will be retained to continue limited storage and shipping operations and administration.

The Yakima plant was formerly known as Frosty Packing.

New Columbia Fruit Packers has notified state and local officials of the closure and resulting layoffs.

“We are focused on supporting employees impacted by this closure and doing what we can to ease their transition. At the same time, we are intensifying our efforts to streamline and enhance our Wenatchee and East Wenatchee facilities, ensuring they remain industry-leading operations,” Reasor said.

A company spokesperson said in an email that the company didn’t plan to make further comments at this time on the plant closure and layoffs.

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