Tyson Foods To Close Cherokee, Buffalo And Santa Teresa Plants

(RTTNews) - Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN) said Friday that it plans to discontinue operations at three facilities as part of its ongoing efforts to improve the performance of its prepared foods business.

The company said its Cherokee, Iowa, plant will close effective September 27, while its Buffalo, New York, and Santa Teresa, New Mexico, plants are expected to cease operations during the first half of calendar 2015.

The move will affect about 950 people, including 450 at Cherokee, 300 at Buffalo and 200 at Santa Teresa.

According to Tyson Foods, the planned closures are due to a combination of factors including changing product needs, the age of the Cherokee facility and prohibitive cost of its renovation and the distance of the Buffalo and Santa Teresa plants from their raw material supply base in the Midwest. In addition, the closings will allow the company to shift some of the production and equipment to other, more cost-efficient Tyson Foods locations.

All three plants have been part of Tyson Foods since 2001, when the company acquired IBP, inc. The Cherokee plant, which Tyson Foods leases, has been producing processed meats since 1965. It currently makes deli meats, hams, Canadian bacon and hot dogs. The Buffalo facility produces hot dogs, sausage and hams. Santa Teresa makes a variety of cooked products including dinner meats, diced ham and roast beef.

Tyson Foods shares are currently gaining 0.08% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $39.54, down 23 cents.