Looking for a new career? This local food processing plant is looking to hire over 70 people in 2021
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AMERICAN FALLS – If getting a new job is on your bucket list for 2021, then here’s something that may interest you.
Lamb Weston, a potato processing plant in American Falls, is looking to hire more than 70 people throughout the year and the company is hosting weekly hiring events in Pocatello beginning Thursday, Jan. 7.
“We saw a slight dip like everyone else (at the onset of the pandemic),” HR Manager Steven Laing tells EastIdahoNews.com. “We paused hiring for about six months just as we were all trying to figure out COVID and how to manage it and now we’re back into trying to hire a lot more folks because we were shorthanded to begin with.”
The company is looking for general laborers, machine operators, quality technicians, packaging operators and maintenance mechanics. Wages start at $16 an hour and come with a benefits package. Walk-ins are welcome but Laing is encouraging people to apply beforehand.
“We can’t interview anyone unless they’ve applied,” he says.
Lamb Weston provides french fries and other products for restaurants and retailers throughout the country, including McDonald’s. Shoppers may have noticed Lamb Weston fries on the shelves at Costco or other places. Laing says any french fry package with the state of Idaho on it is the Lamb Weston brand.
“We usually do free fry Fridays. All the employees here can eat as many french fries as they want because we have french fries being cooked throughout the day. Hopefully, COVID ends and we can get back to that because it was a nice perk,” Laing says.
Lamb Weston is the largest potato processor in the United States and the second-largest in the world. Gilbert Lamb formed the company in 1950 on a small farm in the northwest. The American Falls location at 2975 South Lamb Weston Road is the company’s oldest processing plant, which initially opened in 1961. It has since grown to become the company’s second-largest manufacturing site.
“We produce over 2 million pounds of finished product daily,” says Laing.
The plant is located on more than 500 acres with 12 acres under roof.
The hiring event coincides with the plant’s 60th anniversary and an expansion project slated for completion in 2022.
“We’re adding a production line and an additional building and that’s going to have a new chopped and form line (to make hashbrowns and tater tots),” Laing says. “We’ve got to ramp up in 2021 to be prepared to flip the switch and be ready to go.”
Laing is inviting anyone who’s interested in a job to apply and attend the hiring events. It’s happening at the Hampton Inn at 151 Vista Drive from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Visit the website to learn more.