Meadow Gold to lay off nearly 200 people

HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Meadow Gold expects to lay off nearly 200 people in January after the company filed a notice with the state.

The company announced it would be "discontinuing substantially all of its warehousing and distribution operations" in anticipation of working with Hawaii Foodservice Alliance and Pacific Provisions Hawaii.

Meadow Gold said HFA will manage warehousing and distribution for retail, schools and frozen products while Pacific Provisions will "manage distribution for food service accounts."

According to the filing, 49 people on Oahu, 24 in Hilo, 19 in Kahului and seven on Kauai are losing their jobs.

The company said the change will help meet customer, distribution and service standards as it has been a constant challenge.

After careful consideration, we decided to transition away from managing our own warehousing and distribution operations to focus on expanding local production and investing in value-added local manufacturing to align with our vision to support Hawaii’s dairy industry.

While this is a significant transition, we believe it is necessary to strengthen our long-term ability to deliver high-quality products and to uphold the standards Hawaii deserves while moving us closer, as an island-state, toward greater sustainability and increasing the ability to keep producing locally made products.

Meadow Gold Dairies Hawaii in a statement

The company dates back to 1897 in Hawaii. Milk processing operations on Oahu closed down back in 2020.

"We look forward to this partnership to create a more sustainable future for local families by aligning our interests toward a common goal."

Meadow Gold added they will help support affected employees to the best of their ability.

KHON2 has reached out to the union representing some of the workers for a response but have not heard back yet.