<\/p>\n
A long-running Durango company has announced it will be leaving for Texas and laying off nearly 75 percent of its employees.<\/p>\n
Zuke\u2019s Pet Nutrition announced Thursday it will join with Texas-based Merrick Pet Care. As a result, 24 of the company\u2019s 36 employees will be laid off \u2013 16 of whom are located in Durango.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime we have to make tough decisions that affect our people, our goal is to do it with considerable thought and foresight, in a compassionate and respectful way,\u201d Brent Gleckler, general manager for Zuke\u2019s, said in a prepared statement. \u201cThese actions are necessary to fully realize the benefits of these two organizations coming together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of Zuke\u2019s 12 remaining employees, some will remain in Durango, while others are expected to relocate, said Merrick Pet Care spokesman Pete Brace.<\/p>\n
Zuke\u2019s will move from its longtime headquarters at 2243 Main Ave. in Durango to consolidate its operations with Merrick Pet Care in northwestern Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201cZuke\u2019s will continue to have a presence in Durango, as we evolve our office into a retail innovation hub,\u201d Brace said in an email. \u201cThe plan is still in development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zuke\u2019s, a pet-product company, was founded in 1995 in Durango and was lauded as a local business success story that provided employment and brought in revenue from outside the area.<\/p>\n
Since, Zuke\u2019s has stocked its products in more than 7,000 pet-product stores in the U.S. and Canada, including Petco, PetSmart and Whole Food Markets, as well as local stores such as Pet Haus.<\/p>\n
Hoping to gain a \u201cworldwide platform,\u201d Zuke\u2019s founder Patrick Meiering sold the company to Nestl\u00e9 Purina in 2014, vowing to keep its headquarters in Durango and retain its employees.<\/p>\n
In Thursday\u2019s announcement, Gleckler said Zuke\u2019s plans to join Merrick Pet Care, a natural and organic pet-food company, \u201cto build one organization to better serve pet specialty and to realize Zuke\u2019s growth potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs with any business change, we strategically assessed capability, capacity, performance and the demands of our business now and in the near future to determine what puts our business in the strongest position going forward,\u201d Gleckler said in the prepared statement.<\/p>\n
Gleckler added that employees who lost their jobs are receiving outplacement support services, severance benefits and benefit continuation.<\/p>\n
Roger Zalneraitis, executive director of La Plata County Economic Development Alliance, said Thursday: \u201cWhenever mergers and acquisitions are examined, there\u2019s really not a lot of discussion about the impacts they have on rural communities and small towns, and by and large, it\u2019s negative, and that\u2019s important. Sixteen jobs in an urban environment are not that important. In a small town, they are important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jack Llewellyn, executive director of the Durango Chamber of Commerce, added: \u201cWhenever large companies purchase smaller companies, it\u2019s all about the economics, and they are going to evaluate whether it makes sense or not to consolidate.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the second major business recently to announce it will be leaving Durango.<\/p>\n