On March 14th, Tyson Foods Inc. announced the closure of the Van Buren, AR and the Glen Allen, VA complexes. It is intended to transfer growing and processing activities to other complexes to reduce production costs.
This action will impact approximately 1,600 jobs. Tyson Foods is working with state and local agencies to provide assistance to workers who will not move to accept positions at other Tyson complexes.
In a company statement, Tyson noted, "while the decision was not easy, it reflects our broader strategy to strengthen our poultry business by optimizing operations and using the full available capacity at each plant.
Mark Federici, President of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 Union representing Glen Allen workers stated, "it has been our honor and privilege to represent the workers at this plant for decades and we were appalled by today's news and the terrible impact it will have on close to 700 of our Union members".