Smithfield Prepares to Close Pork Processing Plant

Protein products supplier Smithfield Foods Inc. revealed plans on June 10 to shutter its harvest and processing operation in Vernon, CA. The firm said its decision is linked to rising costs of doing business in California.

“We are grateful to our team members in the Western region for their dedication and invaluable contributions to our mission. We are committed to providing financial and other transition assistance to employees impacted by this difficult decision,” Brady Stewart, chief operating officer of Smithfield, said in a release.

Workers at the location will be relocation options to other Smithfield facilities and farms, as well as retention incentives. The company said it reached an agreement last week with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the International Union of Operating Engineers on its plans to close the plant.

Customers in California will continue to be serviced with Smithfield’s Farmer John brand. As part of the plans, the firm said it will decrease its sow herd in Utah and it is looking at strategic options to exit its farms in Arizona and California.