The city government of Dexter, Missouri, communicated with its residents that the city will be focused on economic development following the news that the Tyson Foods poultry plant will be closing.
It is expected that the Dexter plant will cease operations on October 13.
The Dexter plant has been in the community since the 1930s, Dexter City Administrator David Wyman said. However, it hasn’t always been part of Tyson’s operations. The plant was first opened by the Swift Poultry Company.
According to Wyman, the plant closure is expected to impact 683 employees, as well as “a vast network of chicken growers, farmers, truckers and more.” He also noted there will be trickle-down effects, with the city’s workforce, economy and community as a whole being negatively impacted.
However, the city is stressing economic development and thrift following the closure announcement.
“We need to worry about the families here in town, and we need to be extremely smart about our expenses,” Wyman said in a press release that appears on the city’s Facebook page.
Wyman also emphasized that this was a corporate decision, and that people frustrated with the situation should keep that in mind.
“We need to remain positive about our local Tyson management and local Tyson employees. They had zero input on the decision, and we have enjoyed a tremendous relationship with them for years,” said Wyman.
On August 7, Tyson Foods announced that not only will the plant in Dexter be closing, but also the poultry plants in Noel, Missouri; North Little Rock, Arkansas; and Corydon, Indiana.
The company stated that the decision to close the facilities was based on economics. The four plants were “smaller in scale,” and were not financially efficient to be run without making significant upgrades, CEO Donnie King said.
“These assets that we’re shuttering would have required significant capital in order to make them competitive, and if you look at the returns on those, it really didn’t make sense to do that,” said King.
