West Liberty Foods will close its facility in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, effective May 7, 2023.
The plant closure will be done in two phases, and will affect about 350 team members, who were notified of the decision in one-on-one and group meetings.
The company said it was a difficult decision to make and it is taking steps to assist the employees whose lives will be impacted by the closure.
“Respect and care for people is a core value of our company, and shutting down a plant is a tough thing to do,” said Brandon Achen, president and CEO of West Liberty Foods. “Although we are taking steps to lessen the impact on our team members, we will be eliminating the jobs of some exceptional people through no fault of their own. I want each of them to know that we value their contributions and deeply regret the need for this action.”
“We are committed to providing our team members with support as we work through the process of closing the plant,” added Tara Lindsay, chief talent & culture officer. “In order to lessen the impact of the plant closing to our team members, we will provide them with offers to work at one of our other plants, relocation and transportation services, stay bonuses, severance pay, reemployment services, and assistance with filing unemployment claims.”
West Liberty Foods’ Mount Pleasant facility opened in 2003 with its patented Clean Room Food Processing Systems – the first food manufacturing facility in the nation with this technology. Since opening, the facility has produced hundreds of millions of pounds of sliced deli meats for a variety of customers in foodservice and retail segments.
The Mount Pleasant plant was a recipient of a U.S. Poultry & Egg Association Clean Water Honorable Mention Award in the pretreatment category in 2012.
One year later, a high pressure pasteurization system was added to the plant.
However, the company has seen a recent shift in the types of products and capabilities needed to support its customers. This shift has resulted in a drastic reduction in pre-sliced deli meats, leaving this particular facility and its equipment unmatched to the company’s future needs and direction.
The company plans to move and consolidate existing operations from the Mount Pleasant facility to remaining facilities in Iowa, Illinois, and Utah.
As the shutdown will occur in two phases, thee first round of staff reductions will occur on December 31, 2022, with all operations ceasing at the Mount Pleasant plant on May 7, 2023.
“We are sincerely grateful to the City of Mount Pleasant for its cooperation and support over the past 20 years,” Achen said. “Our core business remains strong and we will continue to adapt to meet the needs of our customers.”
Headquartered in West Liberty, Iowa, West Liberty Foods is the 11th largest turkey producer in the United States. The company was formed in 1997.
