PITTSBURG, Texas – Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. announced Tuesday plans to consolidate the tray-pack chicken business from its El Dorado, Ark. plant to six other facilities. About 600 of the 1,215 positions at the plant will be eliminated in the move.

The company said that most of the positions eliminated will be hourly jobs in chicken processing. Contract growers and employees of the live operations will not be affected. . Pilgrim's Pride will provide transition programs to employees whose positions are eliminated to assist them in securing new employment, filing for unemployment and other applicable benefits.

The El Dorado plant will operate as a supply facility after the transition.

"Since March, we have been conducting a thorough review of all our production facilities to ensure we are operating as efficiently as possible in response to the unprecedented challenges facing our company and our industry," said Clint Rivers, president and CEO. "We are confident that the changes announced today, which conclude the formal review of our operations, will help position Pilgrim's Pride as a stronger competitor.:

The company also announced plans to close its distribution center in El Paso, Texas within the next 60 days. That facility employs approximately 34 people. Following the closing, Pilgrim's Pride will operate a total of six distribution centers in Texas, Arizona and Utah.

Source: Pilgrim’s Pride