Smithfield Foods plans to shutter one of its existing pork processing facilities by the end of the year and shift its operations to a nearby plant, echoing a trend observed throughout the meatpacking industry.
Smithfield announced Monday its plans to close the Charlotte, North Carolina, plant; production will be transferred about 150 miles away to the Tar Heel, North Carolina, facility “to increase efficiency and better utilize existing capacity,” the company said in a release.
Doug Sutton, Smithfield’s chief manufacturing officer, said transition support for the facility’s 107 employees affected by the closure is “our number-one priority” and that the company hopes many of the workers “will continue in roles at other Smithfield locations.” The company plans to offer incentive packages for hourly employees to stay through the Charlotte facility’s closure, which is expected to take place in December.
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The decision mirrors similar changes by other meat companies as margins shrink in the packing sector. In August, Tyson Foods closed four chicken processing facilities — two in Missouri and one each in Arkansas and Indiana — “to further optimize network asset utilization,” the company said in an earnings report. Alexander & Hornung, a specialty meat subsidiary of Perdue, is also expected to close a Michigan facility by early 2024.
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