Bornstein Seafoods is closing its facilities in Bellingham, Washington, and Newport, Oregon, U.S.A. and is moving its headquarters to Astoria, Oregon.
Processing operations previously handled at the two plants will be moved to Bornstein’s Astoria processing plant. The moves will result in an estimated 72 layoffs in Bellingham, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed by the company with the Washington State Employment Security Department on 22 March. The Bellingham layoffs will take place by the end of June, and an additional 50 layoffs will take place in Newport by 21 May, according to the Daily Astorian.
“The Bellingham and Newport facilities are being consolidated into two other facilities we have in Oregon,” Bornstein President and CEO Colin Bornstein said in an email to The Bellingham Herald. “While this decision represents a significant step forward for our company, we are also mindful of its impact on our valued employees. We assure our workforce that we are dedicated to supporting them during this transition period, providing job fair opportunities and access to other resources to assist them in finding alternative employment opportunities. Our commitment to our employees remains unwavering as we navigate this change together.”
Bornstein is consolidating its operations to take advantage of excess capacity it has in Astoria, according to the Herald. It said the company’s Bellingham facility processes halibut, salmon, albacore tuna, Dungeness crab, and groundfish and conducts custom processing, value addition, and smoking.
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the communities of Bellingham and Newport for their support over the years and remain committed to honoring our legacy while forging ahead toward a future of continued success and positive impact,” Vice President Andrew Bornstein said in a release.
The company did not respond to a request from SeafoodSource for comment on the closures.
Bornstein closed its Bellingham groundfish processing operations in 2019, cutting 40 workers, and after taking on a lease for the former Polar Seafood facility in Seward, Alaska, in 2022, it is no longer operating the plant, it said. It also lost its Ilwaco, Washington, facility to a fire in February 2024. Additionally, it opened a fishmeal processing facility in 2023 in Warrenton, Oregon, U.S.A. as part of a joint venture with Scoular and Da Yang Seafood.
Bornstein Seafoods was founded in Bellingham in 1934 by Myer A. Bornstein, with Jay Bornstein taking over for his father in 1980, according to the company’s website. Jay Bornstein expanded the company’s operations along the West Coast until 2010, when his three sons Kyle, Colin, and Andrew Bornstein assumed leadership of the business.
