(Radio Iowa) – West Liberty Foods is laying off more than quarter of its Iowa workforce in April. The layoff of workers on the turkey slicing line was announced in February after its customer Subway announced it is going to slice meat inside its sandwich shops. The executive director of West Liberty’s economic development corporation, Ken Brooks, says the cut in demand only impacts one part of the West Liberty business

“I do not anticipate the demand for the poultry products that West Liberty produces diminishing in any way,” he says. “What I think the market right now is realizing is a decrease in demand for some of that post-secondary processing that they have offered in the past.”

The company is working with the 260 laid off workers for reassignment opportunities elsewhere in the company and in the community. The City of West Liberty is offering utility billing extensions for individuals affected by the layoffs. West Liberty Foods currently employs 865 people in Iowa. It also runs facilities in Illinois and Utah.