CHICAGO—Tyson Foods Inc. will close two U.S. chicken plants with almost 1,700 employees on May 12, the company said on Tuesday.
The closures show that the biggest U.S. meat company by sales is still trying to figure out how to improve its chicken segment that has struggled for years.
Tyson Foods will shut a plant in Glen Allen, Virginia, with 692 employees, and a plant in Van Buren, Arkansas, with 969 employees, according to a statement.
“The current scale and inability to economically improve operations has led to the difficult decision to close the facilities,” the company said.
Arkansas-based Tyson wrongly predicted last year that it would see strong demand for chicken at supermarkets in November and December, Chief Executive Donnie King said on a quarterly earnings call last month. In January, the company replaced the president of its poultry business….