The Icelandic Group Board of Directors has decided to close the Cambridge plant of Icelandic USA in Maryland sooner than previously planned.
The decision of closing the plant was announced last December. The original plan was to close the plant at year end 2007 but that date has now been moved forward to 8 June 2007.
The plant has a long history in the production of seafood products and has been in operation in Maryland since 1968. Around 300 staff members have been laid off, but Icelandic and the local authorities are working together to find new jobs for the staff.
As mentioned in previous statements the closure of the Cambridge plant is the final step in the merger of Icelandic USA and Samband of Iceland which started in the year 2005. The profitability of Icelandic operations in the USA has been low for many years and this action is necessary in order to improve it. The Cambridge plant is old and inefficient. The Newport News plant is 10 years old and much more efficient. After the closure the Newport News plant will be utilised much more which will result in significantly improved operations.
