Peterson Farms announces layoffs in Berks

68 employees will lose their jobs March 8

Peterson Farms, which does business as Appeeling

Fruit Holdings, will lay off 68 employees at its facility in Centre Township, Berks County. The facility provides fresh cut apple slices and apple sauce products for schools

The layoff announcement came via a Worker Adjustment Notification — known as a WARN notification — on the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry website this week.

According to the notification, the layoffs are expected to go into effect March 8. The reason given for the layoffs is a closure of the facility.

MediaNews Group has reached out to the parent company for additional information about the pending layoffs.

Appeeling Fruit Holdings was founded in 1991 in Blandon by Steve Cygan. At its start, the company was a processor of fresh apples with no extended shelf life that it sold to bakeries. In 1998, Appeeling Fruit began marketing its fresh sliced and packaged apples to additional markets.

In 2009, the company moved from its original factory to its current location at 1149 Railroad Road. The company was purchased in 2019 by Peterson Farms, which is headquartered in Shelby, Mich.

The Worker Adjustment and retraining Notification Act is federal legislation that requires employers to provide 60 days advance notification of a closing or mass layoff. In general, employers are covered by WARN if they have 100 or more employees. Private for-profit and nonprofit employers are covered. The notice is triggered by a plant closing, mass layoff or sale of a business, according to information on the Labor & Industry website.