Tyson Foods to cut 880 jobs with two plant closures in Wisconsin, Chicago

Springdale-based Tyson Foods announced Thursday (Nov. 19) plans to shutter two of its prepared food plants located in the the Midwest eliminating about 880 jobs by mid 2016.

A pepperoni plant in Jefferson, Wisc., and a Chicago facility, which makes prepared foods for the hospitality industry, are set to cease operations during the second half of the company’s fiscal year 2016, which ends Oct. 1, 2016.

Tyson Foods said none of its other Chicago facilities or offices are affected by this announcement.

“We examined many options before we turned down this road,” said Donnie King, president of North American operations for Tyson Foods. “This affects the lives of our team members and their families, making it a very difficult decision. But after long and careful consideration, we’ve determined we can better serve our customers by shifting production and equipment to more modern and efficient locations.”

Tyson said the closures are part of its overall effort to improve the performance of its prepared foods segment since the acquisition of Hillshire Brands a year ago. Company officials said the planned closures result from a combination of factors including changing product needs, facility age, cost of renovations, and the distance of the Chicago plant from its raw material supply base.