Gramercy sugar plant to shut its doors

Imperial Sugar said Thursday it will cease operations at its Gramercy sugar refinery Dec. 31 and reduce its packaging operations there, resulting in 170 of the plant’s 283 workers being laid off.

The refinery closure is taking place ahead of the planned opening of a new $190 million sugar refinery being built in Gramercy in 2011. Imperial is a partner in the new refinery owned jointly with agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. and Sugar Growers and Refiners Inc., a cooperative with nine sugar mills and around 700 growers.

Imperial spokesman Clinton Woods said that any worker whose job is eliminated at the Imperial refinery Dec. 31 will be able to apply for a job with the joint venture, known as Louisiana Sugar Refining, or LSR.

“We can’t promise who will get what jobs because that’s not our decision in many respects, besides the ones that we will take on at the packaging facility,” Woods said.

“LSR has not yet decided how many of Imperial’s existing employees will be rehired,” Woods said. “Those decisions will be made following review of qualifications versus experience requirements to operate the technologies utilized in the new refinery. How many total positions LSR will create has also not been finalized but technology improvements will likely result in a net total reduction in employment versus today,” Woods said.

Last year, LSR officials said the new refinery will have around 145 employees. It’s unclear whether any of them will be union members laid off by Imperial.

Neither union nor LSR officials could be reached for comment by The Advocate.

Imperial’s plant employs 203 hourly workers, all union members; 69 salaried workers; and 11 temporary hourly workers, Woods said.

Woods said the “small bag” packaging facility at the old refinery will retain 73 hourly workers and 26 salaried positions. Imperial is now filling those positions, he said.