Poultry plant closing sign of tough times in the industry

by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) 54 views 

It’s a tough blow for the small Yell County community of Danville as Petit Jean Poultry is closing its doors, resulting in the loss of about 800 jobs.

An oversupply of chicken in national and international markets, high feed prices and falling demand are hurting chicken processing companies small and large. Pittsburg, Texas-based Pilgrim’s Pride, the nation’s largest chicken processing company, filed for bankruptcy reorganization Monday (Dec. 1), and the tough market conditions are creating difficulties for Fort Smith-based OK Foods, a large regional chicken processing company that employs around 5,000.

The Russellville Courier has the story on the plant — in business for for 26 years — with comments from the plant’s owner.