JONESBORO, ARK. — Butterball LLC announced plans to close its further processing facility in Jonesboro, Ark., on Feb. 3, 2025. On Dec. 4, the company submitted Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN) related to the closure, which will impact approximately 180 employees.

Butterball plans to move production from the Jonesboro plant to other facilities within its manufacturing network.

“We deliberated for a long time about this difficult decision, as we know it will affect about 180 team members and their families,” said Jay Jandrain, chief executive officer and president of Butterball. “We are committed to helping our team members as they determine next steps in their careers.”

Workers at the Jonesboro plant will continue to be paid through Feb. 3 and receive medical benefits if they work through their scheduled end of service date in accordance with the WARN Act. They also will be eligible for a severance package.

In addition to the WARN Act, Butterball notified its team members in a town hall held on the morning of Dec. 5, where they received information on severance options, benefits and Butterball’s workforce support services during the transition. The support services are being offered in partnership with Arkansas Workforce Services. Offerings include job fairs, resume building workshops and interviewing classes.

Butterball’s announcement comes the same of week other major layoff announcements from food manufacturers.

Tyson Foods plans to lay off 809 employees at a soon-to-be-shuttered beef plant in Emporia, Kan. It also announced the closing of two plants in Philadelphia by the end of January that will affect over 200 employees.

Meanwhile, Cargill announced earlier this week that it will lay off 5% of its workforce, the equivalent of 8,000 employees as part of a restructuring of its business in the wake of weak financial performance during fiscal 2024.