CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters)— Tyson Foods Inc. will close two U.S. chicken plants with almost 1,700 employees in May.
The closures show that the company is still trying to figure out how to improve its chicken business, which has struggled for years.
Tyson will shut a plant in Glen Allen, Virginia, with 692 employees and a plant in Van Buren, Arkansas, with 969 employees.
Chicken demand will shift to other plants as part of a strategy to use the full capacity at each of its facilities, the company said.
“The current scale and inability to economically improve operations has led to the difficult decision to close the facilities,” Tyson said.
The company said last year it could not fulfil all its orders for chicken due to limited supplies and labour, and planned to boost production.
Tyson wrongly predicted last year that demand for chicken would be strong at supermarkets in November and December, chief executive officer Donnie King said last month. In January, it replaced the president of its poultry business.
