LIBERTY, NY — When about 200 people lose their jobs, it has a big impact in a village such as Liberty, which has a population of a little more than 4,000. That’s what happened last week when Ideal Snacks, which is located in the heart of the town, laid off most of its production workers.

The exact number of workers is not known, because officials from the company are not commenting on the matter, but sources familiar with the situation say the figure is about 200.

Former employees and people who live in the Village of Liberty believe the move is connected to a deal with Kellogg’s, which according to multiple sources is either purchasing or becoming a major partner in the operation. (Kellogg’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but records show that in December of 2012, Ideal Snacks assigned several patents regarding snack-making machines from Ideal to Kellogg’s.)

The company issued a statement saying the employees were laid off due to irregularities in their I-9 forms, which are federal documents regarding a person’s legal ability to work in the United States. Several sources who work with undocumented immigrants say all of those who were laid off were undocumented. One said the employees had been instructed by the company as to where to buy their I-9 documents. Joe Talmage Jr., Ideal’s CFO, declined to comment on the matter.

The company has had a rocky relationship with the community and its employees over the years. Labor activists have accused the company of mistreating employees, and conducting searches of the employees as they entered the building to ensure that cell phones and other recording devices were not being brought into the facility.

At a public hearing in 2008, Jen Fuentes, then president of the board of the Workers Rights Law Center, said her organization has received numerous complaints about Ideal, including one that alleged that a plant supervisor prevented workers from using the restroom when they needed to.

At the same hearing, a former Ideal employee, Carmen Quintanilla, who spoke through an interpreter, said that she had suffered a serious injury on the job. She said the company offered to “cover every expense, but you have to say that the accident happened outside the job.”

Legislators at the time were mixed about granting the company the status of “regionally significant project,” but eventually the notion that jobs without healthcare benefits were better than no jobs at all, and the legislators granted the status and the company ultimately received the tax benefits.

The company also received millions of dollars of tax incentives through the Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency.

Dawn Hurley, with Rural and Migrant Ministry, which is supporting the employees, said they are organizing, and they plan on issuing a press release later this week, and perhaps will hold a demonstration.