Food giant Tyson Foods is closing several of its beef plants in the US including one in Illinois, with state representatives describing the closure as “devastating” and “abrupt,” with more than 2,500 workers expected to lose their jobs
The company announced the closures in a Thursday news release, saying it was “making strategic changes to its beef operations to position the company for long-term success.” Tyson will close two beef facilities and sell another, with plans to anchor around its central US locations in Dakota City, Nebraska; Holcomb, Kansas and Amarillo, Texas
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“Recent USDA cattle inventory data, which included continued evidence of limited heifer retention, indicates these supply constraints are likely to persist, requiring strategic action,” the release said
Operations at Tyson’s beef plants will end at facilities in Joslin, Illinois in Rock Island County, and in Eagle Mountain, Utah. Tyson also hopes to sell its facility in Pasco, Washington as the company hopes to “maintain a similar level of cattle harvesting across a more efficient and modern network.”
The company said was offering impacted team members the chance to apply for positions at other facilities
Republican State Sen. Li Arellano Jr. released a statement about the move, saying the “abrupt” closure was a “devastating blow for the Quad Cities Metro Area that is already being hammered by economic losses across the border to Iowa.”
“I feel deeply for these families who depended on this plant for their livelihood,” Arellano’s statement said. “They are being completely uprooted. Multiple communities have been gutted almost overnight. These are 2,500 people who woke up with a job and a plan for their future and are now wondering how they are going to put food on the table. It’s heartbreaking.”
The Tyson Foods plant in unincorporated Joslin, has served as a major economic engine for the region since opening in 1983, Sen. Arellano Jr. said. According to his statement, the plant ceased production Thursday
Arellano, who’s district spans parts of Bureau, DeKalb, Henry, LaSalle, Lee, Marshall, Ogle, Peoria, Rock Island, Stark, Whiteside, and Woodford counties, said he will hold a town hall Aug. 31 in Port Byron for residents to attend
Democratic Rep. Eric Sorenson, who represents Illinois District 17 stretching from Rockford, Davenport, Galesburg and Normal; also released a statement about the closure, saying it will result in the loss of about 2,500 union jobs in the area
“Today’s news is devastating for the 2,500 skilled union workers impacted by the closure of the Tyson plant in Joslin, especially at a time when American families are struggling with the rising cost of living,” the statement, released Thursday jointly with Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth said
The City of Moline also posted about the closure, describing it as a “difficult and unexpected transition.”
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