FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2007 file photo, a dump wagon adds freshly gathered corn cobs to a pile on a farm near Hurley, S.D. After decades of talk, the ethanol industry is building multimillion dollar refineries in several states that will use corn plant residue, wood scraps and even garbage to produce the fuel additive. (AP Photo/Dirk Lammers, File)
Biofuel Energy cuts 40 jobs at Minn. ethanol plant
Published: 05:36:31 PM, Thu 21 February 2013 UTC
DENVER (AP) — Denver-based Biofuel Energy Corp. has eliminated about 40 full-time jobs at its ethanol plant in Fairmont, Minn.
The company's vice president and general counsel, Mark Zoeller, said Wednesday that an adjacent grain storage facility will continue operating with about 15 remaining employees. He says the company had about 135 employees before the cuts.
The Fairmont plant had stopped ethanol production in September amid high corn prices and lower prices for the corn-based fuel additive. At the time, the company said it wouldn't make any changes to its operations team so it could restart the plant on short notice. The company now says it expects the plant to remain idle until this year's harvest season.
Another plant near Wood River, Neb., is operating normally with full staffing.
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