More than 300 employees will lose their jobs at a Smithfield Foods ham boning facility in Altoona, Iowa. The company announced on July 1 that it will close the facility and consolidate production volume at other locations to improve the efficiency of its manufacturing platform.
Smithfield says it will provide transition assistance to the 314 employees affected by the closure and 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,” Doug Sutton, chief manufacturing officer for Smithfield Foods, says in a release.
The production from the Altoona facility will be consolidated into Smithfield’s existing company facilities in Monmouth, Ill.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Crete, Neb.
“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,” Sutton says.
Nearly 4,000 people in Iowa alone are employed by Smithfield at its farms and its food-processing facilities in Carroll, Denison, Des Moines, Mason City, Orange City, Sioux Center and Sioux City.
