Phillips Seafood late last month reorganized its sales staff, eliminating the bulk of its direct sales force and support staff in an effort to cut costs and better utilize its assets.
The Baltimore company, one of the leading U.S. crabmeat suppliers, will rely on a combination of regional sales managers and outside sales brokers, says spokesperson Honey Konicoff. The privately owned company did not disclose how many employees were let go.
Phillips' Senior VP John Knorr recently told the Baltimore Business Journal that Phillips had been mulling the move for a while "knowing it would save us substantial money."
The Journal also reported that Phillips will sell the patio portion of its waterfront Annapolis restaurant, roughly a third of the restaurant, to the National Sailing Hall of Fame. Knorr told the newspaper that Phillips received three other offers in the past 12 months for the property; Konicoff did not confirm the Journal's report.
A top seller of crabmeat to grocery stores and restaurants, Phillips Foods employs more than 200 in the United States. The company operates 11 restaurants in Maryland, North Carolina and New Jersey. It also has a dozen seafood processing plants in Asia, including Thailand, China, Indonesia and the Philippines.
