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FRANCONIA TWP., Pa. - Meatpacking company JBS USA has announced its intention to close two plants, including a facility in Montgomery County.
The beef processing plant at 249 Allentown Road in Franconia Township is known as the company's Souderton facility.
“These decisions are never easy because they directly affect our team members and the communities where we operate,” said Wesley Batista Filho, CEO of JBS USA, in a news release. “We are deeply grateful to the team members at these facilities for their efforts and contributions over many years. Our focus right now is on supporting them with transparency, respect, and access to new opportunities wherever possible.”
UFCW Local 1776 issued its own news release in response to the closure, saying 1,500 jobs were at risk.
Union reps have already reached out to elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels. "We will use every resource available and pursue every possible avenue to fight to keep this Montgomery County plant open and protect these jobs and this community," the union wrote in the release.
Late Friday afternoon, a WARN notice was posted to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor website. Those notices are issued in accordance with the federal WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act, which requires that most employers with 100 or more workers provide at least 60 days' notice before plant closings or mass layoffs.
The notice lists both the Allentown Road address, as well as 741 Souder Road in Franconia Township, which is associated with a MOPAC facility that is under the JBS umbrella.
The MOPAC facility turns materials like grease, cooking oils, and animal by-products into other materials like biofuels and farm animal feed. According to its website, its roots go back to 1877, when it started as a family-run meatpacking business.
A JBS spokesperson confirmed the MOPAC facility also will close. Some truck drivers who were also based at 741 Souder Road will be relocated to other locations, the spokesperson said.
The WARN notice said the closures take effect Aug. 14, with 1,485 workers facing layoffs.
JBS said the closure of that beef processing facility, as well as another location in Tennessee, are part of a broader strategy focused on "growth, modernization, and long-term competitiveness in the United States."
JBS USA, headquartered in Colorado, calls itself the top beef producer in the U.S., with nine facilities that supply more than 44 countries on six continents.
Editor's note: this story was updated to include new information from the WARN Act notice issued by the PA Dept. of Labor.
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