Cargill job losses may not be easy for Northwest Arkansas economy to absorb

by Kim Souza ([email protected]) 3,720 views 

More than 10% of jobs in the Northwest Arkansas animal processing sector will be lost when Cargill’s Springdale plant closes in August. With few similar job openings in Northwest Arkansas, the impact will be tough to absorb even for the region’s dynamic economy.

Cargill recently announced plans to shutter its large turkey plant and feed mill operation in Springdale with production winding down by August. The plant closure is one of two Arkansas turkey production centers that will close this year. The Butterball plant located in Jonesboro closed this week eliminating 180 jobs in that metro area.

The Cargill closure will result in about 1,000 jobs lost in the Northwest Arkansas metro with 108 contract growers — farmers — who eventually will be left with empty poultry houses unless they can sign on with Butterball, which operates plants in Huntsville and Ozark.

The Huntsville plant listed 24 jobs open ranging from debone production, injection production, food safety, sanitation team, shift supervisors, poultry processing, and several supervisory roles. The Butterball plant in Ozark lists around 38 open jobs.

The financial fundamentals of the turkey business have struggled as demand for the protein remains soft and bird flu has resulted in the estimated loss of 17.48 million commercial turkeys in the past two years. Lower pork, beef and comparable chicken prices have had consumers buying less turkey overall. Whole bird wholesale turkey prices are down 13% from a year ago, and turkey breast meat prices are 8.8% lower than a year ago. Turkey thigh meat prices bucked the trend rising 67.5% from a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s commodity reports in late January. The federal agency also reports per capita turkey consumption was 13.9 pounds in 2024, down from 15.4 pounds five years ago.

Cargill has not provided details about severance packages for the employees at the Springdale plant. Cargill does not operate other facilities in Northwest Arkansas, and the Springdale production will be transferred to more automated plants in central Missouri and Virginia.

Michael Harvey, chief financial officer at Northwest Arkansas Council, estimates there are 9,434 people employed in the meat slaughter and processing industry in the Fayetteville, Springdale, and Rogers metro area. The average wage is $45,535 as of Jan. 28. The poultry slaughter and processing industry involves a wide range of skilled jobs from meat trimmers to order fillers, inspectors, truck drivers, industrial maintenance, shipping and inventory clerks, supervisors, graders and sorters as well as clerical and machine operators. There were 158 specific jobs listed in the poultry (chicken and turkey) processing and distribution employment worksheets Harvey provided to Talk Business & Politics.

Harvey said about 450 jobs were actively open in the region in food production. He said some roles within a turkey slaughter and processing plant could transfer into the chicken industry if those businesses are hiring. Clerical, sales and marketing roles along with shipping warehouse and receiving jobs also provide for more easy transfer of skills.

“It’s impossible to know how long it will take the region to absorb these jobs lost at Cargill,” Harvey said, adding the August closure timeline allows time to look for and possibly train for another job.

According to Google Jobs on Feb. 4, Tyson Foods had listings in Springdale for maintenance generalist, truck mechanic, logistics distribution, general labor, associate product manager, truck driver, and business operations specialist. There were 10 job listings in all.

Simmons Foods had job listings for about 70 positions in Siloam Springs, Decatur, and Gentry. Those jobs included meat processing specialists, mill workers, warehouse associates, materials handling, maintenance technicians, process engineers, production maintenance lead, blending room operators, live operations, operation technicians, accounts payable, senior scheduling managers, quality control tech, pallet jack operator, grinder and separator specialist, debone technician, and productions support associate.

Springdale-based George’s Inc. advertised 10 jobs including general labor, feed mill lead, production supervisor, maintenance coordinator, and hatchery delivery specialist.

Bill Rogers, CEO of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber, state workforce officials, Cargill, and other local employers will hold a job fair and help families with services and in-kind donations as the August date approaches. The Arkansas Division of Workforce Services also will hold worker assistance workshops for impacted employees, during which local and state agencies can share information about available resources, retraining and educational opportunities, unemployment insurance, credit counseling, insurance options, and resources to find a new job.

Mervin Jebaraj, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, said 1,000 jobs, many of which are specific in nature to turkey processing, will be hard for the region to absorb.

“I believe that we are going to feel this one for some time,” he said.