Borden May Shut Laura Scudder’s Potato Chip Plant

Borden Inc., which last year bought Laura Scudder’s Inc. of Anaheim, proposed Thursday to move out-of-state the potato chip maker’s last production plant in California.

Richard S. Brodkin, vice president and general manager of Laura Scudder’s, said Borden wants to close the potato chip plant in Tracy, 60 miles east of San Francisco, and move operations there to more modern plants in Utah, New Mexico and Denver. “It’s an economic decision,” he said.

A total of 326 hourly unionized workers and 18 salaried employees would be affected by phasing out production at the plant between Nov. 18, 1988, and Jan. 31, 1989, he said. The Tracy plant makes potato chips, tortilla chips and cheese snacks.

He said a final decision on closing the plant would be made by Borden after consulting workers and others. The company would comply with the 60-day notice required by the new plant-closing law, he said, even though the law will not be effective until next year.

Laura Scudder’s executive offices in Anaheim, which employ 650 people, would not be affected by the announcement, he said. Laura Scudder’s, which was purchased by Borden in September, 1987, closed its other California plant in Anaheim last January, Brodkin said.