Butterball LLC is planning to reduce the manufacturing workforce at its plant in Carthage, Mo., by about half.
About 450 employees will be laid off starting next March. The plant will continue operations, which mostly comprise making patties and other formed products out of turkey ground at other Butterball facilities.
In a statement, the company attributed the layoffs to “long-term adverse conditions in the commodities market.” It invited laid-off workers to apply for positions at plants in Arkansas.
Butterball does not expect the layoffs to reduce its purchases from local poultry farmers, although it may ask some farmers to furnish hens, which are usually smaller than toms, according to the Joplin Globe.
