KUNIA, Oahu, Hawaii -- Pineapple workers at Del Monte received word on Wednesday that they will plant their final crop this month. About 700 of Del Monte workers will be out of jobs when the crop is harvested in 2008.

The news was a shock for many of the workers.

"It's very hard for us, especially the ladies and old men who have been working for long time," Arman Sevilla said. He said many people in his family have worked for "a little over 20 years, some of them 30 or 40 years. It's been very hard for us."

Del Monte officials also informed the union and the governor on Wednesday that it would be closing.

The union representing the 700 pineapple workers said it is saddened that Del Monte is planning to end production in Hawaii and worries about the workers' future.

The ILWU said Del Monte's decision to end pineapple production islands is scarily reminiscent of the closing of Hawaii's sugar plantations that started about 10 years ago.

"What troubles me is there a lot of families who have not fully recovered from the closing of the plantations. There are many who are still unemployed," ILWU Local 142 President Fred Galdones said.

Galdones said he's concerned about the viability of the two remaining pineapple companies: Dole and Maui Pine.

"I hope it is not domino effect like it did with the sugar companies, where one had closed and the others followed suit," he said.

In Del Monte's written statement it said one key reason for closing is the difficulty in obtaining a long-term lease extension with Campbell Estate. However, Campbell Estate Vice President Bert Hatton said that's surprising because in 2001 Campbell offered Del Monte a lease extension at its current rent structure. He said, "Del Monte declined that offer."

Hatton also said that Campbell offered to sell the pineland to Del Monte in three separate proposals, but Del Monte declined all three offers. Hatton said he feels the real reason Del Monte is shutting down the Hawaii operations is the difficult of competing with foreign production.

Del Monte officials also said that the cost of production is too expensive. They said the company could buy the pineapple for lower cost in many places.