Smithfield Foods has announced it will shut down its ham boning facility in Altoona, Iowa, moving production to other locations in an attempt to improve its operational efficiency. The closure will impact 314 employees, to whom the pork processor will provide transition assistance, according to a release from the company.
The company did not share details on the timing of the closure nor the transition period.
Production from the Altoona facility will shift to other existing plants in Monmouth, Ill., Sioux Falls, S.D., and Crete, Neb. Smithfield plans to offer Altoona employees the opportunity to work at other company locations as part of its assistance plan.
The company said it employs nearly 4,000 people in Iowa at its farms as well as its processing plants in Carroll, Denison, Des Moines, Mason City, Orange City, Sioux Center and Sioux City.
