Smithfield Foods Closing Another Plant

Smithfield Foods announced plans last week to close its ham boning facility in Altoona, IA, and consolidate production at other pork plants.

There will be 314 employees affected by the closure.

Smithfield will provide transition assistance to the employees at the facility who will be affected by the closure. The company will meet with employees individually to provide additional details about the transition plan, including severance, financial incentives to assure business continuity, and potential employment opportunities with Smithfield.

“We appreciate the good work our Altoona employees have done over the years and are committed to supporting every employee through this transition,” said Doug Sutton, chief manufacturing officer for Smithfield Foods. “We have been successful in retaining many of our people in positions with Smithfield during previous consolidations and will provide information about opportunities at other Smithfield locations.”

Production at Altoona will be moved to Smithfield facilities in Monmouth, IL; Sioux Falls, SD; and Crete, NE.

Last October, the pork producer closed its Charlotte, NC, pork processing plant and transferred production to its Tar Heel, NC, facility to "increase efficiency and better use existing capacity."

Smithfield employs nearly 4,000 people in Iowa at its farms and its food-processing facilities in Carroll, Denison, Des Moines, Mason City, Orange City, Sioux Center, and Sioux City.