Tyson Foods to close beef plants in Illinois, Utah

With losses in its beef segment possibly reaching $650 million in fiscal year 2026, Tyson Foods on Thursday (Aug. 13) announced beef plant closures in Illinois and Utah that could result in the loss of more than 3,000 jobs.

The Joslin, Ill., beef plant employed around 2,500, and a Tyson case-ready plant in Eagle Mountain, Utah, was built to employ between 800 and 1,200. It was unknown Thursday how many jobs at Eagle Mountain would be lost. Springdale-based Tyson invested $300 million in 2019 to build the Eagle Mountain plant, saying at the time it would initially have 800 jobs with the capacity to expand to 1,200 jobs when fully operational.

“Tyson Foods is making strategic changes to its beef operations to position the company for long-term success,” the company noted in a statement issued Thursday afternoon. “Tyson Foods will anchor its beef business around three strategically located beef facilities in the central United States: Dakota City, Nebraska; Holcomb, Kansas and Amarillo, Texas, to create a more competitive footprint amidst one of the most historic cattle shortages the country has ever experienced.”

Continuing, the company noted: “The company will end operations at its Joslin, Illinois, beef facility and its Eagle Mountain, Utah, case-ready facility. Capacity from these locations will be moved to more strategically located facilities with ample capacity to grow. Additionally, Tyson Foods is pursuing the sale of its Pasco, Wash., beef facility. With these changes, the company will ramp back up a second shift at its Amarillo, Texas facility as cattle become available. Collectively, these changes will allow the company to maintain a similar level of cattle harvesting across a more efficient and modern network.”

Analysts with Little Rock-based Stephens Inc. estimated annual savings from the actions announced Thursday by Tyson to be between $100 million and $150 million.

U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Rockford (Ill.) issued a statement about the Joslin plant closure.