Green Plains lays off workers amid weak margins and restructuring
Source: By Jarrett Renshaw, Reuters • Posted: Monday, December 10, 2018
* “With the reduction of assets as a result of recently completed transactions, we needed to right size the organization moving forward…The layoffs are not the result of the weak margin environment, but more a result of what is the right number of employees to run the business,” Jim Stark, a company spokesman, said in an email on Friday.
* Stark did not say how many employees were laid off, but two market sources familiar with the company’s move said it was roughly 40 people.
* Green Plains permanently shuttered a Virginia production plant last month and cut output at several other facilities as it tries to navigate a supply glut that has pummeled biofuel profits.
* The company recently sold three ethanol plants to Valero Energy Corp and a vinegar business to help pay down debt.
* The austere measures come as ethanol prices have hit multi-year lows on flat domestic demand and a trade war with China that has left a major buyer of excess production on the sidelines. (Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw)