WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) — Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., which faced sharp criticism from hedge fund manager David Einhorn earlier this week, said Wednesday that it may add about 400 workers in Vermont over the next year to 18 months.
The maker of the Keurig single-cup coffee machines says it could add 30 percent more employees in Vermont as it looks to lease more office space and expand new plants. Green Mountain had 4,760 employees in North America at the fiscal third quarter's end, with approximately 30 percent of those workers in Vermont.
Green Mountain has been working hard to keep up with demand but was stung Monday, when Einhorn took issue, in comments he made at the Value Investing Congress, with Green Mountain's patent expirations and accounting restatements and an SEC inquiry.
A pair of analysts shrugged off those critiques on Tuesday, saying Green Mountain has room to grow in the single-serve coffee market.
Green Mountain recently expanded a plant in Waterbury, Vt., and is adding to one in Essex, Vt. It also plans to occupy a new building in Essex by fall 2012 and to lease space in South Burlington and Williston, Vt.
Shares of Green Mountain shed 7.47, or 9.1 percent, to $74.64 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded in a range of $29.55 to $115.98 over the past year.