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Smithfield Foods to Close 35 Missouri Hog Farms

Smithfield Foods Inc. will close operations and lay off more than 90 workers in Newtown, Lucerne and Princeton, Missouri. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Posted August 9, 2023

Smithfield Foods Inc. will close operations and lay off more than 90 workers in northwestern Missouri later this fall, according to the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the pork processor announced this week.

Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, has 35 sow farms slated for closer in Putnam County and Mercer County by October 8.

The closers will affect 13 farms in Newtown, 12 in Lucerne and 10 in Princeton, Missouri.

Hong Kong-based WH Group —Smithfield Foods Inc. owner— informed shareholders and potential investors the group was expecting a 56 percent decrease in the Q1 2023 profit outlook, from $395 million for Q1 2022.

Earlier this week, Tyson Foods too announced incoming closures of chicken processing plants in Missouri as well as other states.