3,000 jobs will be lost as a result of Tyson Foods closing four poultry operations throughout the US between late 2023 and early 2024, the company revealed on August 7.
Tyson Foods has been firing employees all around the country despite making tens of billions of dollars a year in revenue. It declared in April that it would let go of 10% of its corporate staff and 15% of its top leadership. It shut down its corporate headquarters in South Dakota and Chicago towards the end of last year. Tyson Foods to shut down its facilities in Glen Allen, Virginia, and Van Buren, Arkansas, affecting almost 1,700 workers, three months ago.
The economics of the primarily rural villages destroyed
North Little Rock, Arkansas; Corydon, Indiana; Dexter, Missouri; and Noel, Missouri are the locations of the four other plants that are now set for closure. New facilities will house production that is nearer to Tyson’s clientele. Chief Financial Officer John R. Tyson estimates that the four plants butcher about 10% of Tyson’s chickens.
The economics of the primarily rural villages where they are located will be completely destroyed by these closures. More than 500 jobs in Corydon, Indiana, will be eliminated. A Tyson Foods spokeswoman responded to the criticism from the public by saying, “We are closely coordinating with state and local officials, including the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, to connect all team members to resources and assistance available.”
A little over 3,000 people call Corydon home, which is 25 miles from Louisville, Kentucky. Its 3.8 percent unemployment rate will very definitely increase significantly. The usual yearly income of Corydon is only $19,825, which is much less than the $28,555 national average.
Tyson Foods closing 4 plants after reporting losses
Government to postpone plans
More than 680 employees work at the Missouri plant in Dexter, which will shut down on October 13th. The closure will have a knock-on effect on the local economy, according to City Administrator David Wyman, causing the government to postpone plans to build a new $18 million wastewater treatment plant. There are 7,900 people living in the town of Dexter.
1,513 jobs will be impacted by the Missouri plant shutdown in Noel. The McDonald County Presiding Commissioner stated on Tuesday that there was “no way we can incorporate that into existing jobs.” There are barely 2,100 people living in the town as a whole.
About 300 employees in North Little Rock stand to lose their employment. The town of 68,000 people has a lower-than-normal unemployment rate of 2.8 percent, but its household median income is only $45,590, and its poverty rate is 21.7 percent.
