Tyson Foods to shutter Dexter, Missouri, plant

DEXTER, Mo. — Tyson Foods is shutting down its Dexter processing plant, ending jobs for 683 employees, a move described by the company as a necessary "commitment to bold action" in response to a slipping financial picture.

Dexter city administrator David Wyman said Monday, Aug. 7, the doors will close for good in mid-October. The plant is Stoddard County's second-largest employer, behind W.W. Wood Products.

Tyson announced the Dexter shutdown Monday as one of four company facilities in the Midwest to be shuttered.

"The difficult decision to close four chicken facilities in Dexter; in North Little Rock, Arkansas; Corydon, Indiana; and Noel, Missouri, demonstrates our commitment to bold action and operational excellence as we drive performance, including lower costs and improving capacity utilization, and build on our strategy of making Tyson Foods stronger in the long-term," said Tyson in a statement issued from corporate headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas.

The plant closure comes from the corporate level and local administration had "no control" over the decision, Wyman stated in a news release.

"We need to remain positive about our local Tyson management and local Tyson employees," he said. "They had zero input on the decision and we have enjoyed a tremendous relationship with them for years."

Tyson's statement indicated the company will shift production to other unnamed facilities and will cease operations in Dexter and the other plants within the "first two quarters of fiscal 2024."

In recognition of Tyson Foods' decision, Wyman said Dexter city administration will focus on how to "encourage economic development" following the shutdown, scheduled for Friday, Oct. 13.

"We need to worry about the families here in town, and we need to be extremely smart about our expenses," he said, adding the closure also will adversely effect "a vast network" of chicken growers, farmers and others.

Wyman said Tyson has advised it will continue the current hatch and processing cycle before ending operations.

Dexter has been home to an active poultry production industry since the 1890s. The current plant location has been active since Swift Poultry Co. opened in the 1930s. In addition to the loss of employment for 683 Tyson employees, the company will vacate a vast network of chicken growers, farmers, truckers and more. Stoddard County Clerk Josh Speakman estimated a $280,000 personal property tax loss to the county as a result of the closure. He said this number does not include real estate tax.

Tyson spokesman Jeff Wood said the closings are the result of "several quarters of a struggling industry."

Tyson announced in 2022 that it wanted to cut $1 billion in productivity savings by the end of this fiscal year, according to reporting from The Associated Press. The company topped that target in the second quarter of fiscal 2023. During that time, Tyson closed its corporate offices in Chicago and South Dakota and consolidated its workforce in Arkansas, the AP reported.

In March, it announced plant closures in Arkansas and Virginia.

Tyson laid off 15% of its senior leadership and 10% of its corporate workers in April.

On Monday, Tyson posted a loss of $417 million, in its third-quarter financial results. Revenue totaled $13.14 billion, down from $13.5 billion a year ago.

Josh Ayers of the Dexter Statesman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.