Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation has today (15 July) announced plans to consolidate its El Dorado, Arkansas tray-pack chicken plant into six other facilities resulting in the loss of around 600 jobs.

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The job losses, a result of “unprecedented challenges” facing the company, will be eliminated by 19 September.


“Since March, we have been conducting a thorough review of all our production facilities to ensure we are operating as efficiently as possible in response to the unprecedented challenges facing our company and our industry,” said Clint Rivers, Pilgrim’s Pride president and CEO. “We are confident that the changes announced today, which conclude the formal review of our operations, will help position Pilgrim’s Pride as a stronger competitor.


“By consolidating the tray-pack volume from El Dorado into our six remaining case-ready plants, we can position our entire case-ready division to operate more efficiently. As a supply plant, our El Dorado facility will be able to take full advantage of its efficient live-production cost structure to help us deliver even better value to our customers.”


Most of the positions eliminated will be hourly jobs in chicken processing. Contract growers and employees in live operations will not be affected, the company added.

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In April, Pilgrim’s Pride acknowledged that the El Dorado plant was among those being reviewed for possible closure or consolidation.


The company also announced plans to close its distribution centre in El Paso, Texas within the next 60 days. The facility employs around 34 people. Following the closing, Pilgrim’s Pride will operate a total of six distribution centres in Texas, Arizona and Utah.


“While the decision to close or consolidate locations is always difficult, we believe the actions we are announcing today are absolutely necessary for our business and our company,” added Rivers.