Darigold, Inc. is closing its Salt Lake City milk processing plant by the end of July, laying off 96 employees.
Darigold purchased the old Cream o’ Weber plant in the fall of 2010, but intense competition from other producers and rising costs have forced its closure, company officials said.
Products, however, will still be available in Utah grocery stores, such as Smith’s Food & Drug, Walgreens and Walmart.
Darigold is a cooperative of 530 dairy farmers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California and a handful of producers in northern Utah. The cooperative’s remaining 12 plants will continue to process milk, butter, cottage cheese, yogurt and other cultured dairy products under both private labels and the Darigold brand.