Idaho Workers Brace for Simplot Closures

A number of southwestern Idaho communities are bracing for the planned closure of three Simplot plants.

The potato processing plant in Caldwell is scheduled to close around the end of the year, with facilities in Nampa and Aberdeen to follow sometime next year. About 800 workers are expected to be affected by the closures. The company plans to build a new plant in Caldwell next year, but Simplot officials say just 250 workers will be needed at that facility.

Jamie Smith, who manages a payday loan business in Caldwell, says her customers are devastated by the planned closures, which Simplot first announced in 2011.