WEST LIBERTY, IOWA – West Liberty Foods announced on Oct. 28 that it plans to close its Mount Pleasant, Iowa, sliced meats facility in two phases, halting operations by May 7, 2023.

The company said the closure of the plant would affect 350 workers. 

“Respect and care for people is a core value of our company, and shutting down a plant is a tough thing to do,” said Brandon Achen, president and chief executive officer of West Liberty Foods. “Although we are taking steps to lessen the impact on our team members, we will be eliminating the jobs of some exceptional people through no fault of their own. I want each of them to know that we value their contributions and deeply regret the need for this action.”

West Liberty said it would move any operations from the Mount Pleasant facility to company locations in Iowa, Illinois, and Utah.

The Mount Pleasant facility began operating in 2003 using Clean Room Food Processing Systems. West Liberty said the plant produced hundreds of millions of pounds of sliced deli meats for foodservice and retail customers.

The company said the decision to close the plant was the result of a recent shift in the types of products and capabilities needed to support customers. 

“This shift has resulted in a drastic reduction in pre-sliced deli meats, leaving this particular facility and its equipment unmatched to the company’s future needs and direction,” West Liberty said. 

The company noted the shutdown would happen in two phases. The first reduction will occur on Dec. 31, 2022, with all operations stopping in Mount Pleasant in May 2023. Workers were notified of the decision in one-on-one and group meetings.

“We are committed to providing our team members with support as we work through the process of closing the plant,” said Tara Lindsay, chief talent and culture officer for West Liberty. “In order to lessen the impact of the plant closing to our team members, we will provide them with offers to work at one of our other plants, relocation and transportation services, stay bonuses, severance pay, reemployment services, and assistance with filing unemployment claims.”