Dive overview:
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Smithfield Foods to close 35 Operation of a pig farm Founded in Missouri to reduce costs as the industry deals with challenging market forces.
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About 92 workers will lose their jobs as a result of the shutdown, according to a notice of the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notice Act filed with the state last week. A spokeswoman for Smithfield confirmed Thursday the number of businesses affected by Agriculture Dive.
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Pork producers have struggled this year with high input costs, low pig prices and weak demand. evaporate their profits. Smithfield, owned by Hong Kong’s WH Group, said:serious loss “Due to unfavorable market conditions” in the first quarter.
Dive Insight:
WH Group’s pork division has attributed recent losses to its U.S. division, which has faced challenges from rising pig farming costs and weak consumer demand. The company’s business in China and Europe improved, but its pork division posted an operating loss of $170 million, compared with a profit of $45 million in the same period last year.
According to the WARN Act notice filed on August 4, the job cuts are scheduled for October 8, affecting Sullivan County pig farm facilities.According to Reuters, the pig farm set for closure 13 in Newtown, 12 in Lucerne and 10 in Princeton. Employees were given the opportunity to transfer to another company’s facility if a position became available.
Jim Monroe, Smithfield’s vice president of corporate affairs, said in an email that the company’s changes do not affect slaughterhouses and are “unique to our hog business” in the state. Employees were notified in May.
Smithfield’s closure was confirmed around the same time Tyson Foods announced its plans to close. four chicken factories Arkansas, Indiana, and Missouri reported back-to-back revenue declines.
Amid continued challenges in the U.S. meat industry, Wang Long, chairman of WH Group, told investors in April that the company will focus on the industrial value chain and product mix “while controlling prices and controlling costs.” said to adjust the
WH Group is scheduled to announce second-quarter results on August 14.