The U.S. military pull-out from war in the Middle East has had a ripple effect back to Indiana.

AmeriQual Foods will layoff at least 45 employees at the company’s Evansville plant that makes ready-to-eat meals and other rations for the military.

The company has about 575 full-time employees in the Evansville plant.

Word of the layoffs was disclosed in a letter from the company and posted today on the website of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

The letter from human resources director Lori Cline said the layoffs began Jan. 12.

“The largest client of AmeriQual Foods has revised their contracts and is using a different vendor,” according to the warning letter.

AmeriQual Foods becomes the first company in Indiana to publically report a layoff in 2012.

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