Employees of Pure Prairie Poultry say they have not been paid
(ABC 6 News) — After Pure Prairie Poultry announced it would be closing the doors to their Charles City processing plant last week, employees said they still have not received their paychecks.
Employees were supposed to be paid on Friday, October 4th, but as of Tuesday, October 8th, they said they have not received their money.
Related: Growers for Pure Prairie Poultry say their chickens are starving
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with 937 creditors listed an an estimated debt of $100 million to $500 million.
According to the bankruptcy filing, Pure Prairie Poultry had between $50 and $100 million in assets to its name.
However, last week, the filing was dismissed and the plant announced it was closing its doors and their employees would be terminated.
Employees said they were surprised the closure happened so quickly, and now just want to be paid the money they are due.
“We should not be getting punished for your actions when we sat here and came to work everyday,” one anonymous employee said.
The missed paychecks have caused financial stressors for many employees, one saying they had to ask a local church for help to keep up with their bills.
“That’s embarrassing like I shouldn’t have to do that. Like I was an adult, I worked I did what I was supposed to do,” another anonymous employee said.
Several employees have filed claims with the state, hoping it will force the company to pay them as soon as possible.
“We’re hoping that can kind of give that a little kick to show them that this is important. Just give us our last check and we’ll leave you alone,” an employee said.
Other employees said they were living paycheck to paycheck, and losing their income so suddenly has caused them anxiety because they don’t know when they will have the money they need.
In a statement to ABC 6, Pure Prairie Poultry said:
“We continue to explore possible buyers for our operations and have discountiued operations at our Charles City production plant.
“We recognize that our difficulties represent a hardship for our people, for our grower partners and for the community at large. As we continue to work toward a transition we will look to minimize any further impact on all parties and will share information as it become available.”
Several of these employees said if the plant reopens under new ownership, they hope they can go back to the job they loved.
ABC 6 was also sent unconfirmed reports the plant will be leased by Miller Poultry.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture also issued a statement via their Facebook page:
“It is unfortunate that many of the Minnesota chickens owned by Pure Prairie Poultry, Inc. were not able to enter the food supply as intended. Since the company announced they were closing its Iowa-based processing plant last week and would be unable to process the chickens, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), along with state and federal partners, worked to ensure the chickens were fed and sought a processing solution for the animals. The MDA, farmers, and partners were able to process some birds, and that work continues. While the chickens do not pose a health or safety risk, the MDA will be utilizing emergency resources to ensure the remaining chickens are humanely depopulated according to American Veterinary Medication Association standards and overseen by experts from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.”