Tyson Foods is cutting jobs and shifting production at its chicken processing facility in Wilkesboro, N.C., according to numerous local news reports. According to a statement shared by The Wilkes Journal-Patriot, Tyson said it was shifting production to support its fully cooked products, and that fewer positions would be required in the facility as a result.
Although Tyson did not respond to requests for comment and clarity on the production changes, local government officials told the local news outlet that nearly 500 jobs at the fresh plant would be eliminated out of the approximately 2,500 who work there.
Additionally, those local officials said that the plant would be converted to a bulk processing plant, processing birds that would then be sent to newer Tyson facilities for further processing and packaging. Up till now, the Wilkesboro fresh plant processed the chicken products all the way through to packaging for retail and foodservice customers.
It was not clear at the time of this writing where Tyson was shifting the production, but the company’s Danville, Va., and New Holland, Pa., plants were speculatively mentioned as possible targets. The Journal-Patriot said Wilkesboro’s town manager was notified that the change in production would not cause a reduction in the overall volume of chicken processed in the facility or affect the amount of chickens needed from area farms.
Meanwhile, the story noted, the town has continued its wastewater treatment facility expansion project — a move that will nearly quadruple the capacity of the facility to 8 million gallons per day — in order to keep up with Tyson’s capacity growth. Tyson accounts for roughly 70% of the wastewater treated in the facility, which is running at capacity, the story said.
In October 2023, Tyson laid off approximately 250 employees at the Wilkesboro facility, while also closing six different chicken plants across the U.S. over the course of the year, in efforts to balance its poultry operations in the midst of catastrophic financial results for the company.
