HONG KONG – WH Group Ltd., the parent company of Smithfield Foods Inc., announced a proposed spin-off of its operations in the United States and Mexico to list the company on the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ.

Wan Long, chairman of WH Group, wrote that shareholders and potential investors should know that the move needs approval from “the Stock Exchange, the final decision of the Board, and review by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and there is no assurance that Proposed Spin-off will take place or as to when it may take place.”

Smithfield’s US operations have announced plant closures and operational transitions throughout the last year. In July, it confirmed that it expects to close its Altoona, Iowa, ham boning facility and consolidate production volume at other locations, which would affect 314 jobs. In October 2023, the pork company announced that it would close its Charlotte, NC, pork plant and transfer all production to its Tar Heel, NC, facility.

The company entered into an agreement with Cargill in June to purchase a dry sausage production plant in Nashville, Tenn. 

MEAT+POULTRY published a plant profile feature on Smithfield’s Tar Heel, SC pork plant in 2023.