more on pilgrim's pride plant closings

Pilgrim's Pride to close Plant City facility - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

Chicken processor Pilgrim's Pride Corp. plans to lay off 84 employees at its Plant City distribution center, starting in May. The employees are involved in transportation and warehousing for Pilgrim's Pride (NYSE: PPC), which filed an official layoff notice with the state. The Plant City distribution center is one of six centers the company has decided to close around the country to curtail losses because of feed cost increases, according to a release. Pilgrim's Pride, which is based in Pittsburg, Texas, stated the closings also are a result of an oversupply of chicken in the United States.

Pilgrim's Pride to cut jobs nationwide, but Waco plant's specialty may save local jobs

Poultry giant Pilgrim’s Pride, which has a processing plant in Waco, has announced it is cutting more than 1,100 jobs and will close a processing plant and six of its 13 distribution centers as it struggles to cope with rising grain prices.

The company, based in Pittsburg, Texas, confirmed it will close the processing plant in Siler City, N.C., which employs about 830 people.

Spokesman Ray Atkinson said the cuts may not stop there. The company continues to look at other processing facilities “for potential (product) mix changes, closure and/or consolidation.”

Pilgrim’s Pride has a total of 37 processing plants, 34 in the United States and three in Mexico. It also has 12 prepared-foods facilities.

The Waco plant on East Lake Shore Drive employs 700. Atkinson said he could not comment on the future of that plant or any other while Pilgrim’s Pride continues its assessment.

Truth About Trade & Technology - Pilgrim's Pride Plans Closings

In what it is calling an industrywide "crisis," the Pittsburg, Texas, company, whose 2007 revenue was $7.6 billion, says its cost for feed is expected to be more than $1.3 billion higher than two years ago.

The increase in feed costs is due largely to rising prices for the two main feed ingredients, corn and soybeans, which have more than doubled during the past year as demand for grain world-wide rises and as more grain is used to produce biofuels.

Pilgrim's Pride plans to close one of its 37 chicken-processing plants, along with six of its 13 U.S. distribution centers.

While many farmers are enjoying the high grain prices, purchasers and users of grain, like meat processor Smithfield Foods Inc. and packaged-foods company Kellogg Co., are trimming production and seeking cheaper ingredients. Pilgrim's Pride has increased prices it charges customers, although it wouldn't say by how much.

The retail price for broiler products is about $1.69 a pound, up about 10% from last year, according to figures from the U.S. Agriculture Department. Consumers are also starting to feel the pinch of higher prices at the grocery store.