By Patrick Thomas, Wall Street Journal
Tyson Foods TSN -5.02%decrease; red down pointing triangle is closing more processing plants as the biggest U.S. meat company seeks to turn around its chicken business.
Tyson said Monday it plans to close chicken plants in Corydon, Ind.; Dexter, Mo.; Noel, Mo.; and North Little Rock, Ark., shifting production to other facilities as part of a broader effort to cut costs.
The company’s chicken business has struggled for years with a variety of different issues, ranging from hatching enough chicks to meet demand to staffing plants, falling chicken prices and higher costs. Tyson has been trying to cut costs through layoffs, plant closures and making changes to some of its operations.
“Markets continue to be challenging, and they’re challenging for everyone,” said Chief Executive Donnie King on a call with analysts. “We’re not yet where we need to be, so we continue to focus on what we can control.”
The Springdale, Ark., company, a bellwether for the American meat industry, posted a loss of $417 million, or $1.18 a share, for the three-month period ended July 1, compared with a $750 million profit a year earlier. Tyson said quarterly revenue declined 2.6% to $13.1 billion. The results were lower than what analysts polled by FactSet had expected.
Shares of Tyson were down almost 6% Monday. The stock is down about 39% over the past 12 months.
In May, Tyson shut down two chicken facilities in Arkansas and Virginia, laying off roughly 1,700 workers. Tyson said in April it would eliminate 15% of its senior leadership positions and 10% of its corporate roles.
Tyson, which produces about one out of every 5 pounds of chicken, beef and pork sold in the U.S., has been dealing with other problems across its meat businesses.
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