Tyson will close poultry plants in Virginia and Arkansas with 1,600 jobs : NPR
Toby Talbot/AP
Tyson Foods is closing two facilities that employ more than 1,600 people in an effort to streamline its poultry business in the United States.
The company said Tuesday that it plans to close its processing, broiler production and hatching operations in Glen Allen, Virginia, and a plant in Van Buren, Arkansas. Both closures are scheduled for May 12.
Tyson said the closures will help it make better use of all available capacity at its remaining plants.
The Springdale, Arkansas-based company said it will be working with 692 employees at Glen Allen and 969 at Van Buren to fill vacancies at other plants.
Tyson has made other efforts to bolster his operations in recent months. Last October, the company announced that it would move 1,000 company employees from offices in Illinois and South Dakota to Arkansas.
Tyson attributed underperformance in part to its lower-than-expected profit for the first fiscal quarter ended December 31. The company said operating income fell 68% to $467 million in the period.