Officials at Hoku Materials announced Tuesday plans to lay off 20 employees at their Pocatello Plant. It’s not the best news for the plant that has yet to fully open.
Amy Burks-Stewart, marketing and public relations coordinator for Hoku Materials, said 20 employees from various departments have been let go. She said each employee was offered a severance package based on their tenure with the company. Hoku is also working with the Department of Labor to help their former employees with outplacement opportunities.
According to Burks-Stewart, the cuts were necessary for the plant to maintain its viability going forward, until the facility can reach desired production levels.
It’s another in a line of bad news for Hoku, who most recently sparred with Idaho Power over unpaid power bills. While the company eventually reached a compromise, the controversy revealed Hoku’s money problems. The lay offs, while small, don’t do the company any favors in that department.
[via KPVI]
TBA 
The last article you posted about Hoku, I posted that this would happen, and that the present jobs were only temporary. The only thing we will be left with is a maintenance crew facility for our area. The company Hoku has a history of over promising and then not delivering. Pretty sure that is called a lie.