230 Cuts at ConAgra Plant in North Carolina

ConAgra is laying off 230 workers at a Slim Jim plant in North Carolina as the company prepares to close the plant and shift the jobs to an existing facility in Ohio.  The plant was damaged in an explosion in 2009 that killed four people and caused extensive structural damage.

750 people worked at the plant prior to the explosion, which caused parts of the building’s roof to collapse.  Contractors were purging gas lines at the time of the accident and gas was released into a pressurized room before being ignited by electrical equipment in the room.  The company paid a $106,000 fine as part of a settlement with OSHA.