PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — StarKist Co. has confirmed it is laying off about 350 workers from its tuna cannery in the U.S. territory of American Samoa over the next several months.

A spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh-based company confirmed Wednesday the layoffs of both salaried and hourly workers at StarKist Samoa.
Spokeswoman Mary Sestric says a number of factors have combined to put the American Samoan tuna industry at “significant and immediate risk.” One of the factors cited by Sestric was the rising minimum wage.
Gov. Togiola Tulafono has said the federally mandated increases have already pushed the territory’s other tuna cannery out of business.
Chicken of the Sea International plans to shut down its COS Samoa Packing plant at the end of September, laying off 2,172 workers.