TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas said he was disappointed Tyson Foods would permanently close a meat plant in Emporia employing more than 800 people.
Tyson Foods said its ground beef and value-added marinated protein plant would be shuttered in February 2025 to help the company operate more efficiently.
In the fiscal year ending in September 2023, the company’s beef unit had income of $233 million. The unit reported a loss of $291 million in the 2024 fiscal year that closed in September.
“The news of Tyson’s closing its plant in Emporia breaks my heart,” said Marshall, who serves on the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee. “This is devastating news for these families and the community, especially at Christmas time.”
Marshall said the Tyson Foods facility was one of the largest employers in the Emporia region. His office had been in contact with the City of Emporia and “we are committed to doing everything possible to help these individuals find good jobs.”
Tyson Foods employs more than 5,000 people across a series of plants located in Kansas.
Formal notification of the Emporia decision was triggered by a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice to the state. Ernesto Sanchez, vice president of beef and pork operations for Tyson Foods, sent a letter to Emporia officials indicating the decision was part of “the company’s business strategy to operate more efficiently.”
The giant meatpacker said in a statement the plant closure would have a substantial impact on the Emporia community and its employees. As many as 200 Emporia plant workers could be absorbed into Tyson’s operation in Holcomb, officials said.
“Taking care of our team members is our top priority and we encourage them to apply for other open roles within the company,” Tyson Foods’ statement said. “We are also working closely with state and local officials to provide additional resources to those who are impacted.”
Tyson Foods has struggled with market forces that included a declining fed cattle population and higher costs for livestock for processing. The company didn’t indicate the Emporia plant closure was tied to promises by President-elect Donald Trump to crack down on undocumented immigration.
Demise of 800 jobs in Emporia would follow layoffs involving thousands of Tyson workers amid closure of six U.S. chicken plants and an Iowa pork plant since the outset of 2023.
In 2017, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and public officials in Leavenworth County announced a deal that called for Tyson Foods to invest $320 million in a new chicken processing plant, hatchery and feed mill near Tonganoxie that would employ 1,600. Public backlash prompted Tyson Foods to abandon the development project.
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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