Sunday, July 27, 2014

Tyson Foods to close Santa Teresa plant, cut 200 jobs

Tyson Foods Inc (TSN.N) said it will discontinue operations at three of its factories which make processed meat products such as sausages and hot dogs, affecting about 950 people. The largest US meat processor, which won the bidding war for Hillshire Brands Coin June, said the closures were not related to the acquisition. “The closings were under consideration long before our decision to pursue Hillshire Brands”, Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said. Tyson outbid Pilgrim’s Pride Corp with its $63 per share offer for Hillshire, valuing the Jimmy Dean sausages maker at $8.55 billion. The closures were due to changing product needs, an aging Cherokee, Iowa factory and the distance of the Buffalo, New York and Santa Teresa, New Mexico plants from their raw material supply base, the company said. “The consolidation helps them get transportation efficiencies,” Chris Hurt, an agricultural economist with Purdue University, said. The closures will affect 450 employees at Cherokee, 300 at Buffalo and 200 at Santa Teresa. The company had about 115,000 employees as of last September...more

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