Tyson Foods to close chicken processing plant in Dexter

DEXTER, Mo. (KBSI) – Tyson Foods Inc. is closing a chicken processing plant in Dexter.

The company expects to lock the factory doors by October, 13, 2023. This impacts 683 employees as well as a vast network of chicken growers, farmers, truckers and more.

The closures are the result of several quarters of a struggling industry, according to Tyson representative Jeff Wood. The Dexter plant is one of four Tyson Foods Inc. plants to close. The other plants are in Noel, Mo., North Little Rock, Ark. and Corydon, Ind.

From a corporate standpoint, it make sense to downsize the older plant and keep the bigger, newer plants, according to the release by the city of Dexter.

The plant closure comes from the corporate level. Local administration had no control over the decision, according to the city of Dexter.

The Dexter community has hosted active poultry production since the 1890s. The current plant has been active since the Swift Poultry Company opened in 1930s.

“This loss will negatively affect the city’s workforce, economy and the Dexter community as a whole,” according to the city of Dexter.

Tyson’s current plan is to continue the current hatch and processing cycle, then clean everything and shut the plant doors by October 13.

David Wyman, the City Administrator for the City of Dexter says,

“Those families live here in Dexter, and the surrounding area, their kids go to Dexter schools and all the school districts around. They shop at our grocery stores, they go to our movie theaters, they go to our churches, go to our parks go to pour swimming pools, the loss of that will be very, very hard for this community.”

Sasha Moore went to Dexter to hear from community members about the closing. Learn more on FOX23 News at 9 p.m.