Tyson Foods announced it is closing additional beef plants as an ongoing cattle shortage has pushed U.S. supplies to their lowest level in 75 years.
Plants in three states affected
The company is ending operations at its Joslin, Illinois, plant, affecting approximately 2,500 workers.
It is also shuttering its Eagle Mountain, Utah, case-ready beef and pork facility. When Tyson announced the plant’s opening several years ago, the company said it would initially employ 800 workers, with plans to expand to 1,200.
Download the Straight Arrow app today to get the stories that matter free from manipulation, bias or agenda.™
Point phone camera here
Tyson will also attempt to sell its beef facility in Pasco, Washington.
Cattle shortage squeezes Tyson
The company said recent Agriculture Department data showed few signs that ranchers are rebuilding their herds.
“Recent USDA cattle inventory data, which included continued evidence of limited heifer retention, indicates these supply constraints are likely to persist, requiring strategic action,” Tyson said in a statement.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Tyson posted a $142 million loss in its beef division in the most recent quarter, while sales fell 16% from a year earlier despite higher beef prices and continued consumer demand.
As Straight Arrow has previously reported, the nation’s cattle industry has been hit by drought and disease, along with rising costs for feed, fertilizer, equipment and diesel fuel. Still, Americans have continued buying beef even as prices at grocery stores and butcher shops have climbed.
Closures hit workers, communities
News of the Joslin plant closure hit workers hard, with employees receiving letters this week telling them their last day would be either Thursday or Friday.
Democratic Rep. Eric Sorensen of Illinois, along with Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, issued a joint statement on the loss of roughly 2,500 jobs.
Fear No Fact.
Tyson said earlier this month that it expects its domestic beef business to lose between $500 million and $650 million in fiscal year 2026.
“Today’s news is devastating for the 2,500 skilled union workers impacted by the closure of the Tyson plant in Joslin, especially at a time when American families are struggling with the rising cost of living,” the lawmakers wrote. “In the coming weeks, we remain committed to supporting our union members during this transition and working with Tyson to ensure that they have access to resources that support their return to work.”
The latest closures follow Tyson’s shutdown of its large meatpacking plant in Lexington, Nebraska, at the start of the year, leaving more than 2,000 workers without jobs. The plant was a major economic driver for Lexington, and its closure dealt a blow to the community.
Taken together, Tyson’s cuts this year amount to a reduction of roughly one-third of its previous beef-processing operations.
On Thursday, Tyson announced that it will concentrate its beef operations at three locations: Dakota City, Nebraska; Holcomb, Kansas; and Amarillo, Texas. The Amarillo facility had previously faced staffing and shift reductions.
Tyson now plans to ramp operations back up at the Amarillo facility.
Agriculture experts have warned that rebuilding the nation’s cattle herd will take time — potentially years.
Round out your reading
- All your questions about napping, answered.
- Trump’s $5,000 promise echoes past payouts that never materialized.
- Inside the effort to make data centers pay their share of electricity costs.
- Why did the Feds seize the ’largest Martian meteorite on Earth’?
- Photos and video show exactly where and when Trump visited Ground Zero after 9/11.
