Tyson Foods is permanently closing its pork plant in Perry, Iowa.
A company spokesperson on March 11 confirmed with WATT Global Media that the facility would close, issuing the following statement: "After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close our Perry, Iowa pork facility. We understand the impact of this decision on our team members and the local community. Taking care of our team members is our top priority and we encourage them to apply for other open roles within the company. We are also working closely with state and local officials to provide additional resources to those who are impacted. While this decision was not easy, it emphasizes our focus to optimize the efficiency of our operations to best serve our customers.”
According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Tyson Foods provided to Iowa Workforce Development, workers were notified of the upcoming closure on March 11, and listed June 28 as the “layoff date.”
This decision to close the Perry facility follows other recent closure announcements made by Tyson Foods.
In 2023, Tyson announced the planned closure of the poultry plants in North Little Rock, Arkansas; Dexter, Missouri; and Noel, Missouri; Glen Allen, Virginia; Van Buren, Arkansas; and Corydon, Indiana. Only the Corydon plant remains open, but it’s last day of production will be April 6.
In November 2023, the company revealed that it would be closing two case-ready value-added meat plants. Those facilities are in Jacksonville, Florida, and Columbia, South Carolina.
The WARN notice stated that 1,276 jobs would be affected by the Perry closure.
According to Tyson Foods, the company employs more than 9,000 people at other facilities in Iowa.
