Pilgrim's Pride Restructures: Idles Three Plants
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation announces plans to idle three of its 32 U.S. chicken processing plants by mid-May as part of its reorganization. The idling of these three underperforming plants is intended to improve the company's product mix by reducing commodity production and to significantly reduce its costs in the midst of an industry-wide oversupply of chicken and weak consumer demand resulting from a national recession.
"The idling of these three plants is a painful reflection of the unprecedented challenges facing our company and our industry from an excess supply of chicken and weakening consumer demand resulting from a crippled economy," says Don Jackson, president and chief executive officer. "Simply put, we are producing too much commodity chicken in what is a very weak market. The actions announced today will reduce our production of low-value, commodity meat that is a financial drain on the company without affecting any of our core business lines or customers."
The plants that the company plans to idle within 60 to 75 days are located in Douglas, Ga.; El Dorado, Ark.; and Farmerville, La. These plants employ a total of approximately 3,000 people - or roughly 7 percent of the company's total U.S. workforce. Pilgrim's Pride will provide transition programs to employees whose positions are eliminated to assist them in securing new employment, filing for unemployment and obtaining other applicable benefits. Approximately 430 independent contract growers who supply birds to these three plants also will be affected.
"The idling of these three plants is a painful reflection of the unprecedented challenges facing our company and our industry from an excess supply of chicken and weakening consumer demand resulting from a crippled economy," says Don Jackson, president and chief executive officer. "Simply put, we are producing too much commodity chicken in what is a very weak market. The actions announced today will reduce our production of low-value, commodity meat that is a financial drain on the company without affecting any of our core business lines or customers."
The plants that the company plans to idle within 60 to 75 days are located in Douglas, Ga.; El Dorado, Ark.; and Farmerville, La. These plants employ a total of approximately 3,000 people - or roughly 7 percent of the company's total U.S. workforce. Pilgrim's Pride will provide transition programs to employees whose positions are eliminated to assist them in securing new employment, filing for unemployment and obtaining other applicable benefits. Approximately 430 independent contract growers who supply birds to these three plants also will be affected.