Maui Land & Pineapple Company, owner of Maui's Kapalua Resort, has stopped planting pineapple and will cease pineapple operations by the end of the year.

Maui Land & Pineapple also will outsource some management functions at the Kapalua Resort by Dec. 31.

Chairman Warren Haruki said the decision to close the company's pineapple operations after 97 years was "incredibly difficult but absolutely necessary." He said the pineapple division has lost $115 million since 2002 and that efforts to make the business sustainable haven't worked.

At the resort, Maui Land & Pineapple plans to hire a company to manage the 206-unit Kapalua Villas; license operations of Kapalua Adventures to a zipline activity company; select an operator to provide shuttle and security services; and seek an operator at Kapalua Farms to continue organic farming.

The Kapalua Resort's lone hotel is the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, which was renovated in January 2008. The hotel will continue to be managed by Ritz-Carlton.

Maui Land & Pineapple said its resort division, Kapalua Land Company, will continue to manage the golf courses, the new spa and retail.

Maui Land & Pineapple said it expects that up to 133 employees will be offered employment at partner companies. Up to 285 employees will be laid off, primarily from the pineapple operation. The company said it currently employs 624 people.