Tyson Foods announced it is permanently closing its plant in the central Iowa town of Perry.
A statement from a company spokesperson says “After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close our Perry pork facility. We understand the impact of this decision on our team members and the local community.” The statement says the company encourages Perry workers to apply for other jobs within the company. It says the decision emphasizes its focus on optimizing the efficiency of its operations to best serve customers.
Tyson is Perry’s largest employer with some 1,200 workers. The company also has Iowa plants in Council Bluffs, Independence, Columbus Junction, Storm Lake, and Waterloo that it says employ more than 9,000 workers.