Cargill Inc. this week said it will close its turkey processing plant in Springdale, Ark., on Aug. 1, idling 1,100 workers, according to several media reports. The company said some of the facility’s production will be transferred to Cargill plants in Missouri and Virginia.
This apparently is a tough time to sell processed turkey meat, as just yesterday we reported Foster Farms will close its only turkey plant, in Turlock, Calif., on May 9 and lay off 519 employees. And in December, Butterball said it will close its Jonesboro, Ark., processing plant in February, idling 180.
Cargill overall is coming off a bad year, in which sales dropped more than 10% to $160 billion. Subsequently, Cargill in December announced plans to cut 5% of its global workforce, or about 8,000 employees.
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.