Butterball to Shutter Illinois Plant, Cutting 600 Jobs

Turkey and poultry products producer Butterball plans to close its meatpacking plant in Montgomery, IL this July, terminating 600 workers in the process.

The Garner, N.C. company’s chief operating officer, Jay Jandrain, told the Chicago Tribune in an emailed statement that the move to close the plant resulted from a “lack of vertical integration in the pork complex and the weakness in the raw material commodity markets.”

The Montgomery plant produces pork and turkey products, according to Butterball’s website. In 2013, Butterball purchased the Gusto plant, making a number of improvements and expansions.

“Gusto Packing was a long-time, family owned business and when Butterball purchased the plant and made improvements, we anticipated that they would be operating their business here for many years to come. The employees have been very loyal to this facility for a long time, and the sudden closure comes as a shock to them and to us,” Montgomery Village president Matt Brolley said in a statement published by ABC News affiliate WLS-TV.

Butterball said it intends to offer positions at other facilities to the impacted workers.

“We are committed to retaining as many of our Montgomery employees as possible, and are committed to offering relocation assistance to any of our team members who have an interest in staying with the company and accept an available position at another location,” Jandrain’s statement said. 

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