US poultry, beef and pork processor Tyson Foods said yesterday [Monday] that it would close its Berlin, Maryland poultry plant, with the loss of about 650 jobs.

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The processor said the move comes in an effort to reduce costs. Some operations will begin shutting down this week, with the plant expected to be at a standstill by the end of this year.

The group expects to take pre-tax charges of US$30m to $35m, or 5 cents to 6 cents a share, in the last two quarters of its fiscal year ending 27 September. The move is forecast by Tyson to improve tax earnings by approximately $10-15m per year, starting in fiscal 2004.

“This move is part of our company’s ongoing plant rationalisation efforts,” Bill Lovette, group vice president for Tyson’s foodservice unit, said in a statement. “These operations faced ongoing challenges with their product mix and need for capital improvement.”

Mountaire Farms of Selbyville, Delaware, will buy a feed mill from Tyson. It is located in Westover, Maryland.

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