Tyson Foods is shutting a prepared foods plant in the US, saying operations at the facility are “no longer viable.”
The plant due for closure is located in Rome in Georgia.
“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to cease operations at our Rome, Georgia, prepared foods facility,” a company spokesperson told Just Food.
“The facility has operated under a unique single-customer model, but recent changes have made continued operations at the site no longer viable.”
The spokesperson also assured support to affected workers.
“Supporting our people is our top priority, and we are encouraging impacted team members to apply for other roles within the company while working with state and local partners to provide support during this transition.”
Just Food approached Tyson for more details on the closure, including the number of jobs impacted but the company declined to comment.
In November, Tyson announced the closure of a beef-processing plant in Lexington, Nebraska, as part of plans to “right size” the segment.
Tyson, meanwhile, is converting its Amarillo, Texas, beef facility to a single, “full-capacity” shift and boosting output at other unnamed beef plants, while saying it remains “committed” to supporting displaced workers with new roles and relocation benefits.
The shake-up follows sustained losses in beef amid “tight” cattle supplies.
For the full fiscal 2025 year, the beef unit’s adjusted operating loss deepened to $426m from $291m, while sales climbed to $21.6bn from $20.5bn. Volumes fell 1.9% for the year.
In the first quarter of Tyson's new financial year, which ran to 27 December, beef volumes were down 7.3%, a slight improvement from the 8.4% drop in the final quarter of the year before.
When Tyson announced the results in February, president and CEO Donnie King said: “Continuing to absorb losses like we have been seeing for the past two years is simply unacceptable. Looking forward, we expect cattle supplies to remain tight throughout 2026 and 2027.
“During this period, chicken is likely to continue to benefit most from the changing consumer preferences, both at retail and in foodservice.”
The company has narrowed its projected beef loss for fiscal 2026 to $250m-500m, from a prior outlook of $400m-600m.
