It’s been a rough couple of years for workers at various Tyson meat processing plants.
Tyson is the country’s largest meat company, and the world’s second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork. So what gives with the closures if the company is so dominant?
As it turns out, several incidents seem to be driving the closures, resulting in the layoffs of thousands of employees over the past few years.
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A massive 328,000 square-foot beef and pork processing plant in Emporia, Kansas was shuttered on February 14, 2025. The closure impacted 809 workers who were laid off, with Tyson encouraging the workers to apply to other jobs within the company.
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Just a couple of weeks before the Emporia plant closure, Tyson also closed two of its prepared food plants in Philadelphia. These plants were used to produce Philly cheesesteaks and called the‘ ‘Original Philly’ plants (the name of Tyson’s prepared Philly cheesesteaks).
Between the two Original Philly plant closures, a total of 229 workers were impacted. Regarding these closures, Tyson explained that the decision was “part of the company’s business strategy to operate more efficiently.”
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The recent closures are nothing new to Tyson. Back in 2022, Tyson began a restructuring program which, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, involved consolidating corporate headquarters and reducing expenses and increasing efficiency.
As a result, thousands of employees would soon be laid off.
In 2023, a total of EIGHT Tyson processing plants were closed. Six of them were poultry processing plants and two were beef. Eight plants is a LOT of closures. Any guesses on how many employees their shuttering impacted?
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More than 4,200 workers were laid off from the closure of the eight total processing plants in 2023. The locations were:
- North Little Rock, Arkansas
- Noel, Missouri
- Dexter, Missouri
- Corydon, Indiana
- Van Buren, Arkansas
- Glen Allen, Virginia
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Columbia, South Carolina
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With so many poultry processing plants closed, many chicken growers (yes, that’s what they’re called!) were faced with millions in debt from loans they took out to sign contracts with Tyson.
Timothy Bundren, a poultry farmer in Arkansas, was suddenly out of a contract when Tyson closed several poultry processing plants near his farm.
“I’m thinking if I’m hearing this right, I’m out of business,” he said. “How am I going to pay a loan this big back?” Bundren recounts.
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So we saw mass processing plant closures in 2023 and several earlier this year…
More changes are coming down the line in August. Fortunately, this one is an acquisition, so employees aren’t really being laid off (even though a WARN notice was issued, which typically is associated with layoffs and closures).
Instead, a Tyson cold storage facility in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, is being sold to Lineage. A total 314 employees will be transferred to Lineage once the transaction is complete. This is scheduled to occur on August 15, 2025.
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There are several factors behind the Tyson plant closures.
There have been devastating outbreaks of bird flu (avian influenza), which have impacted the poultry processing plants. From February 2022 to January 29, 2025, over 79 million birds had been lost due to the bird flu outbreak – and that’s just in the United States. That figure doesn’t even include the birds that were lost with the most recent outbreak of bird flu.
You likely recall the egg shortage earlier this year, which resulted from an outbreak of bird flu. (The outbreak started at the end of 2024, with California declaring a state of emergency due to the bird flu outbreak.
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Another issue Tyson faced was a recall of over 30,000 pounds of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets near the end of 2023. Some consumers discovered metal pieces in the dinosaur-shaped nuggets. Fortunately, only one minor mouth injury was reported with that voluntary recall, yet it adds to the list of factors negatively impacting Tyson’s poultry division.
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Yet another factor precipitating the struggles impacting Tyson is the shortage of cattle.
Over the years, cattle farmers have been reducing their herds due to higher interest rates, droughts impacting grazing lands and hay costs, and increasing feed costs.
As a result, beef prices have soared to an all-time high of $9.26 per pound as supply can’t keep up with demand. Beef prices have already increased 9% just this year!
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Compared to one year ago, steak prices have risen 12.4%, and ground beef prices have risen 10.3%, respectively, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI).
Since there aren’t enough cattle to meet demand, Tyson is impacted down the line, which adds fuel to the fire and results in beef processing plant closures.
Tyson’s beef business is its largest unit, so an adjusted operating loss of $291 million for the 2024 fiscal year is a big deal.
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The closures of some of these facilities are in rural areas where the plants are a main source of employment. As a result, some poultry farmers have sued Tyson. The farmers allege that Tyson misled them to believe the poultry facilities would remain open, all while the farmers invested millions to support their contracts with Tyson.
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Tyson has closed several of its processing plants over the years, with the most recent closures happening earlier this year.
It’s a challenging time for farmers, businesses, and pretty much everyone, really…
Have you been impacted by any of the processing plant closures? Are there any other driving factors you believe play into the situation? Share your experiences and ideas in the comments to add to the conversation!
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