Pilgrim's Pride To Idle 3 U.S. Plants, Affecting 3K Employees

[Purveyor]

Source: RTT NEWS

(RTTNews) - Friday, poultry products company Pilgrim's Pride Corp. (PGPDQ.PK: News ) said it plans to idle three of its thirty-two U.S. chicken processing plants by mid-May. The move will affect about 3,000 employees or 7% of the company's U.S. workforce.

The poultry company had filed voluntary Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection on December 1, due to short-term operational and liquidity challenges. The idling of the three under-performing plants is part of the company's reorganization plans.

The company stated that it plans to ides the three plants located in Douglas, Georgia; El Dorado, Arkansas; and Farmerville, Los Angeles, with the intention of improving its product mix by reducing commodity production and to significantly reduce its costs in the midst of an industry-wide oversupply of chicken and weak consumer demand resulting from a national recession.

Of the roughly 3,000 employees or 7% of Pilgrim's Pride's total U.S. workforce who work in the three plants, those employees that are eliminated will be provided transition programs to assist them in securing new employment, filing for unemployment and obtaining other applicable benefits, the company said.

The company also noted that about 430 independent contract growers who supply birds to these three plants also would be affected.


Read more: http://www.rttnews.com/Content/BreakingNews.aspx?Node=B1&Id=868196%20&Category=Breaking%20News

[truthisfreedom]

1. So, no chicken in every pot?

What's next... a chicken shortage?

[Rashel]

2. Oversupply of chicken? Why aren't prices down then?

[CatholicEdHead]

3. Shipping, sticky prices at the grocery store to try to recoup

last year's losses from high fuel costs.

[Ikonoklast]

4. And feed purchased at the very top of the commodity market.

Livestock producers were scrambling to lock in feed costs before they spiraled even further out of reach, and then collapsed leaving many with contracts bought at the very top of the market.