DowDuPont to cut jobs in Hawaii
BRUCE ASATO BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Some of the sunflower plants in the 20-acre sunflower field at the DuPont Pioneer farm in Waialua in November.
BRUCE ASATO BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
A tractor mows a cover crop in preparation for planting at the DuPont Pioneer farm in Waialua in November.
COURTESY DUPONT PIONEER
A DowDuPont field in Waialua.
Two global companies doing seed crop research in Hawaii became one in August, and now the company plans to consolidate local operations from six sites to three while also investing in two facilities.
DowDuPont, created by a $130 billion merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont, informed its roughly 280 full-time Hawaii employees of its plans today and said the transition, which will include an as-yet undermined number of job cuts, is expected to be carried out over the next three years.
An initial phase of reorganization locally is to begin between April and June. It will involve moving former Dow research and development work on Molokai to facilities in Waimea and Kekaha on Kauai, moving former Dow seed production in Kaumakani on Kauai to Waialua on Oahu and moving a small former Dow research and development operation in Kaumakani to the nearby Waimea and Kekaha sites.
A second phase will involve moving a former DuPont research and development operation in Kunia on Oahu to the two surviving Kauai properties in May 2019.
DowDuPont said it expects to invest about $12 million in the Waimea facility and a previously shuttered Kekaha facility where there will be new job opportunities.
