Maui Land & Pineapple Company says it is getting out of the pineapple business.Hundreds of jobs will be lost as a significant chapter in Maui’s history comes to a close.
The company announced today it has immediately stopped planting pineapple and will cease pineapple operations by the end of the year.
285 employees, mostly pineapple workers and some employees with the company's resort division, will be laid off.
Hawaii will soon be down to just one remaining pineapple plantation in central Oahu and one sugar operation on Maui.
These fields hold the last pineapple plantings Maui Land & Pineapple company will ever grow.
"It's been a big part of Maui for many generations, and pineapple is kind of a symbol of Hawaii, so it's sad to see it go,” said Ryan Churchill, Maui Land & Pineapple Senior Vice-President.
The packing plant and its Haliimaile and West Maui fields shut down by the end of the December -- this after previous waves of layoffs in recent years.
"We knew it was coming, but we didn't know it was coming this way,” said Doug Cadading who worked at the company for 30 years. "They don't hit us at the beginning or the middle of the year. Always it's during the holidays every layoff.”
285 people will lose their jobs including people whose families have worked here for generations at the 97 year old company.
"My granddad worked for Maui pine, my dad worked for 45 years as a supervisor for the trucking dept and I worked since 1978 until now,” said Harold Gouveia, a 31-year employee. "My dad is turning in his grave because Maui pine was his life.”
"There's families, cousins, brothers and sisters, some of the people gonna be laid of is husband and wives,” said Willie Kennison, ILWU Maui division director.
"We gave it many years of effort on it, and our hearts go out to the many employees and their families who are impacted by this,” said Churchill.
Maui land still has its Kapalua resort and its other commercial and land leasing islandwide.
About 133 people may get jobs elsewhere in the parent company.
"We're gonna be focused on our resort operations and continuing to make kapalua the great place it is and manage the resort,” said Churchill.
"At this time and age, in this economy, everybody wants a job. They’ll still have their job, we won't,” said Cabading.
The company has lost $115 million in its pineapple business since 2002, plus $20 million spent on the packing facility.
The union will be working with the company on severance packages and health care options. Also, the state's labor rapid response team and federal job training resources are also expected.
Maui County Mayor Charmaine Tavares says help will be available to the hundreds of employees losing their job.
Tavares responded to news of the closure by saying, "working in our pineapple fields has been the source of income for many families, where high school teenagers spent their summers and where multiple members of a family worked."
The county is working with the state and private businesses to provide job training, counseling and assistance with the unemployment process. 
