Tyson Foods will cease operations at facilities in Glen Allen, Virginia, and Van Buren, Arkansas, with planned closure dates of May 12.
According to an email from Tyson Foods spokesperson Derek Burleson, the company will close its processing, broiler and hatching operations in Glen Allen and its poultry processing plant in Van Buren.
Those decisions were based on economic efficiency, according to the company.
“To strengthen our chicken business, we are focused on operational excellence and optimizing our network to reach full capacity in every Tyson Foods facility. With that said, the current scale and inability to economically improve operations has led too the difficult decision to close the facilities,” Burleson’s email read.
“While the decision was not easy, it reflects our broader strategy to strengthen our poultry business by optimizing operations and utilizing the full available capacity at each plant.”
According to news reports, the decision affects about 900 workers in Van Buren and 692 workers in Glen Allen.
Burleson said thee company is working directly with impacted team members to help ensure they have the option to apply for open positions and relocation assistance where applicable to other Tyson facilitiws. Tyson is also working with state and local agencies to provide resources and assistance for affected employees who chose not to relocate.
In 2018, Tyson Foods notified about 150 employees in Van Buren that they would be laid off, stating that the decision was due to “changes in production needs.”
In Glen Allen, the plant was expanded in 2013. The facility also was recognized by the North American Meat Institute through its Environmental Recognition Program Awards program.
Tyson Foods, according to the WATTPoultry Top Companies survey, processed 206.68 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken on a weekly basis in 2022. It remains the largest poultry producer in the United States.
