Perdue cuts costs by laying off 100 chicken catchers

An estimated 100 Perdue Farms chicken catchers will lose their jobs in March when their positions are eradicated.

The company has hired Unicon, a North Carolina-based subcontractor, to employ chicken catchers at its Georgetown poultry processing plant and another in Accomack County.

Luis Luna, vice president of corporate communications with Perdue, said the decision was made to cut costs. Perdue is one of the last poultry companies on Delmarva to have its own catching crews, he said.

“This is still a tough economy and Perdue is working hard to stay competitive. We take any decision affecting our associates very seriously, but the economics of the situation left us with no other choice.

“Poultry companies are facing near-record-high grain costs, and the price of poultry still hasn’t picked up because of the economy, so we have to stay competitive with the rest of the industry,” concluded Luna.