MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S. — Cargill, which in September said it would close its corn milling facility in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., by January 2015, now says it will begin a “mass layoff” in Memphis in February.

 

In a notice filed Dec. 11 with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Cargill said it expects to lay off 210 union employees between the beginning of February and the end of June 2015.

 

The layoffs will follow the planned closing of Cargill’s 412,000-square-foot corn milling facility in Memphis this January. Cargill representatives cited “underutilization” and “location away from the Corn Belt” as the reasons for the closing.

 

In total, Cargill’s closing will eliminate 440 jobs, including 120 contract positions.