City is working to keep Shearer’s in place
By Terry Murry on Monday, March 21st, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
HERMISTON – Umatilla County isn’t the only government body working to convince Shearer’s Foods to remain in the Hermiston area following a catastrophic explosion and fire at its plant just outside the city. The city of Hermiston itself is at the table. Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan said a closure would not just impact Shearer’s employees.
“If we lose a significant amount of potato processing ability, we haven’t just lost the jobs internal to the potato chip factory itself,” he said. “We’ve really reduced the amount of receipts that some of these potato growers can receive. That reverberates up and down the supply chain in this community.”
Morgan said the company is still assessing the extent of the damage and the best action to take after laying off its workforce.
“They’re still trying to figure out what they have on the ground out there,” Morgan said of Shearer’s leadership train. “Even though it was a pretty catastrophic fire out there, there are still some assets that are there. We’re here, ready, and willing to assist them, as they try to figure out how they want to move forward.”
