Tyson Sells Two Plants

(Springdale, AR) Tyson Foods has completed the sale of two of its Alabama poultry plants and related support facilities to Koch Foods. As part of strategic efforts to reduce the production of commodity chicken, Tyson has sold its processing plants in Ashland and Gadsden. The sale also includes the companys Talladega feed mill, as well as its Fairknoll and Empire hatcheries. Terms of the transaction were not released. The Gadsden and Ashland poultry complexes had been part of Tyson Foods for more than 20 years. More than 800 of the 1,200 people employed at the Tyson locations involved in the sale have been hired by Koch Foods. This includes more than 320 employees from the Gadsden plant, which will continue to process birds but will no longer have further processing operations. This change has resulted in the elimination of approximately 350 positions at Gadsden. Some Tyson chicken-catching positions in the region were also displaced. The affected employees have been offered financial incentives to transfer to other Tyson operations in Alabama and approximately 90 have currently accepted. Tyson continues to have a presence in Alabama. The company employs approximately 2,400 people at company facilities in Albertville, Blountsville, Cullman and Ivalee. (Copyright 2007 Newsroom Solutions, LLC)