Maines Paper and Food Service, one of Broome County’s largest and longest-serving employers, is laying off a significant portion of its staff, according to a letter sent to affected employees.

The Conklin-based food distributor had attempted to find a buyer for its broadline unit that distributes food to restaurants, schools, and health care centers across the country. But as the pandemic broke out in the U.S. in March, no deal could be struck, and a potential buyer backed out, the letter read.

The company’s moves were effective Monday evening. Maines didn’t foresee that “all of these events were going to occur” and gave as much notice to its staff as it could have, the letter dated Sunday stated.

Several businesses that bought from Maines posted Facebook messages expressing sorrow for the move.

Maines issued a state-mandated WARN letter in March notifying the state Department of Labor of the “temporary layoff” of 340 employees in Broome County. There has not been a similar WARN letter posted to the state’s website for this layoff. The exact number of affected employees was not known as of Monday evening.