The Star Kist Samoa cannery plans to lay off about 100 staff at its American Samoa plant this month.
This was revealed by Star Kist Vice President Barry Mills at a public hearing on the cannery's application for a tax exemption.
Mills said the layoffs are intended to offset the next 50 cent increase in the minimum wage due to go into effect May 25th.
What the cannery is doing is merging two jobs into one and giving higher compensation to one employee and letting go of the other.
Mills also confirmed that Star Kist is for sale and 11 companies have expressed interest.
It's his understanding that a buyer has been selected but he was not privy to the buyer's identity.
Mills says he expects the sale will go through within the next 30 days.
