Pilgrim's in late July will close its cook and cold storage facilities in Chattanooga, Tenn. About 200 jobs will be affected.
The company employed more than 1,500 workers at its Broad Street and Market Street facilities at the beginning of 2012, but now employs closer to 900, according to a report from the Times Free Press.
There are job losses expected at Pilgrim's slaughter operation or deboning operation in Chattanooga, the company said. A spokesman said that employees would be offered jobs at Pilgrim's remaining downtown Chattanooga facilities, and that 40 jobs already had been added at the deboning plant.
The shift is part of a larger realignment at Pilgrim's that has been ongoing since May, which has seen Chattanooga moved from the prepared foods division to the small bird deboning operation. The eliminated cooking and cold storage operations are being consolidated at more modern and efficient facilities elsewhere in the region.
