Poultry company to lay off 300

ATLANTA (AP)- Poultry processing company Cagle's Inc. says it's cutting about 300 jobs at its plant in Pine Mountain Valley in Harris County.

Atlanta-based Cagle says the layoffs at the west Georgia plant will be effective in mid to late August.

The facility has 640 workers on its payroll and processes 520,000 chickens weekly. The plant was converted to a deboning operation a year ago, with production at 630,000 chickens per week.

The company says a big increase in feed costs is behind the move, with prices climbing mainly due to a 75 percent increase in the cost of corn. It says boneless breast sales also dipped 10 percent over the past year.