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发帖数: 29846 | 1 The company said the plant's utility costs are much higher than its other
locations.
VERNON, Calif. (AP) — Meat-packing giant Smithfield Foods said Friday it
will close its only California plant next year, citing the escalating cost
of doing business in the state.
The Farmer John meat-packing plant in Vernon, an industrial suburb south of
Los Angeles, will shut down in February, with its 1,800 employees receiving
severance and job placement support along with bonuses for those who choose
to stay on the job until the closure, said Jim Monroe, vice president of
corporate affairs.
Some workers, who on average earn about $21 per hour, also will have
opportunities to relocate to other facilities owned by the Virginia-based
Smithfield Foods Inc.
The Vernon plant slaughters pigs and packages products such as ham and bacon
. Some operations will be moved to other facilities in the Midwest, but the
overall reduction in processing capacity is prompting Smithfield to reduce
its sow herd in Utah. The company also said it is exploring ways to exit its
farms in California and Arizona.
Monroe said operating costs in California are much higher than in other
areas of the country, including taxes and the price of water, electricity
and natural gas.
“Our utility costs in California are 3 1/2 times higher per head than our
other locations where they do the same type of work,” he said.
The shutdown is not expected to reduce supply or increase costs on products,
and Farmer John Products will still be sold in California, Monroe said.
“There won’t be any impact on our customers,” he said.
The Vernon plant has been the target of repeated protests by animal rights
activists over its treatment of hogs. It also was hard-hit during the COVID-
19 pandemic, with some 300 employees exposed to infections in 2020. Several
were hospitalized.
California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health fined Smithfield
Foods about $60,000 for safety violations that exposed workers to infection.
Smithfield Foods was founded in Smithfield, Virginia, in 1936 and according
to its website provides more than 40,000 jobs in the United States. It was
acquired in 2013 by Hong Kong-based WH Group. |
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