JEFFERSON CITY, MO. – Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sent a letter on Oct. 3 to Donnie King, chief executive officer of Tyson Foods, asking the meat company to sell two poultry processing facilities in the state that are scheduled to be closed in the coming months.

In August, Tyson made the announcement that it would be closing two of its poultry plants in Noel and Dexter, Mo., along with two others in North Little Rock, Ark., and Corydon, Ind.

“These plants are critical to local communities,” Bailey wrote about the two Missouri plants. “The City Administrator of Dexter, for example, recently pointed out that Dexter ‘has been home to an active poultry production industry since the 1890’s, and the current plant location has been active since the Swift Poultry Company opened in the 1930’s.’ Closure will be devastating to the local economy. The same is true in Noel, where the plant employs 1,500 workers in a city whose population is 2,100.”

Bailey continued, “Closure will have ripple effects that will harm more than just the individuals who would lose their factory jobs. How can a restaurant or grocery store in a town of 2,000 people expect to stay open when 1,500 people lose their jobs? What will chicken farmers and grain growers do if the plants they have long relied on close?”

Later in his letter, Bailey stated that King and Tyson should keep the facilities open or sell to any interested party.

Dexter city officials stated in August that the closing would impact at least 863 jobs. According to officials, Tyson plans to stop operations at the facility on Oct. 13. 

US Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) previously stated on his X account in September that he spoke to King on the issue of the two plants.

“He told me, first, Tyson is willing to sell its facilities in Dexter and Noel, Missouri to any interested party - including a competitor,” Hawley wrote in September. “I was glad to hear it, because anything less would violate antitrust laws. I hope Tyson is actively pursuing a sale that will save these jobs in Missouri. Second, he told me Tyson would help any farmer who wanted to keep raising chickens to do so, including helping them get new contracts with Tyson or other companies. We will hold him to these commitments.”