AUGUST 12, 2023 — CLOSING 35 HIG FARMS WITH 94 LAYOFFS
Smithfield Foods will be closing 35 hog farms across Missouri, including 13 in Newtown, 12 in Lucerne, and 10 in Princeton, and laying off 92 employees, commencing on October 8, 2023.
According to a company statement, Murphy-Brown LLC, a division of Smithfield Foods, is ‘reducing its hog farming operations’ across the state and ‘must reduce its workforce accordingly,’ the company said in the notice, which affects salaried and hourly workers.
FEBRUARY 1, 2023 — FARMER JOHN CLOSING
The Farmer John slaughterhouse in Vernon, California is slated to close for good in a matter of days, leaving about 2,000 workers with uncertain futures.
JUNE 28, 2022 — Original post…
Smithfield, Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WH Group of China and the largest integrated pork producer and food-processing company in the United States, has announced a restructuring that will see the closure of the company's Farmer John meatpacking plant in Vernon, California. The company is also considering “strategic options to exit its farms in Arizona and California.”
The closure, tentatively scheduled for early 2023 will impact approximately 1,500 employees. The decision appears driven by the elevated costs of doing business in California. Production will be shifted to the company's existing facilities in the Midwest.
According to Smithfield's Chief Operating Officer, Brady Stewart, “Smithfield harvests only company-owned hogs in Vernon. Smithfield will service customers in California with its Farmer John brand and other brands and products from existing facilities in the Midwest. Smithfield is taking these steps due to the escalating cost of doing business in California. We are grateful to our team members in the Western region for their dedication and invaluable contributions to our mission. We are committed to providing financial and other transition assistance to employees impacted by this difficult decision.
“Despite a strong, mutually beneficial relationship with Farmer John employees and their union, Smithfield has decided to exit operations in California,” Grant said in a statement. “A fair agreement that compensates their workers until next year has been reached, and we hope that another operator will take advantage of the highly trained and stable workforce that makes the Farmer John plant a productive and profitable part of Vernon’s packing infrastructure.”
Additionally, Smithfield Foods plans to downsize operations in Beaver, Utah which will impact an estimated 250+ employees.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?