ATHENS, Tenn. — Mayfield Dairy has announced plans to lay off 100 workers in hopes of lowering its prices, company officials said Wednesday.

The dairy company has 1,700 employees at 27 locations, Mayfield spokeswoman Bridgette Raper said. The layoffs will be in distribution, not manufacturing, she said.

It wasn’t known whether the layoffs would affect the 385 workers of the Athens plant, she said.

Company President Scottie Mayfield and other company officials toured Georgia plants on Wednesday to break the news to workers, she said.

According to Ms. Raper, Mr. Mayfield stated that the layoffs are aimed at making prices more competitive.

She said the layoffs will include retirements and elimination of recently vacated positions to reduce the number of people actually losing jobs. Mayfield officials said they made the decision to lay off workers, which was approved by parent company Dean Foods.

McMinn Economic Development Director Jack Hammontree said the layoffs are unhappy news for one of the county’s most important companies.

“We are always disappointed with any layoffs, either locally or regionally,” Mr. Hammontree said.

The Mayfield Co., founded in 1910, produces about 69 million gallons of milk and 28 million gallons of ice cream each year. Its products are distributed in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

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