SPRINGDALE, Ark. (AFX) - Tyson Foods Inc., a chicken, beef and pork producer, said Thursday it will close a beef plant and cut a shift at another, resulting in the elimination of about 770 jobs.
Effective Oct. 16, Tyson said subsidiary Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. will permanently close its beef slaughter plant in Boise, Idaho, and scale back processing operations at its Pasco, Wash., complex.
The Pasco facility will continue to operate one shift of beef slaughter operations, but will eliminate one of two beef processing shifts, because it will no longer receive beef from Boise, Tyson said.
Company officials said the cutbacks are part of a broader strategy to return the company to profitability and ensure long-term success.
The consolidation will result in the elimination of all 270 jobs at the Boise facility and about 500 positions at the Pasco complex, reducing that plant's work force to about 1,200 employees, Tyson said.
Tyson will look into selling the property, which includes about 1,500 acres of land, to real estate developers. The company does not expect to incur any charges as a result of the Boise closure.
Tyson shares closed up 50 cents, or 3.6 percent, at $14.32 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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