Tyson Foods announced on August 13, 2026, that it is closing its major beef slaughter and processing facility in Joslin, Illinois, and its meat packaging plant in Eagle Mountain, Utah. The closures took effect immediately, impacting more than 3,200 direct production workers across both sites. The company also revealed plans to sell its beef processing plant in Pasco, Washington.
The Joslin facility employed nearly 2,500 workers who drew labor from the Quad Cities metropolitan region and surrounding rural counties in western Illinois and eastern Iowa. The Eagle Mountain location accounted for 723 employees. Operational disruptions extended to secondary contractors, with sanitation provider Fortrex laying off 103 workers at the Joslin site after receiving notification of the termination.
Under federal and state labor laws, employers with 100 or more staff must typically provide 60 days' advance notice before a mass layoff. Tyson submitted its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing to the Illinois Department of Labor approximately 30 minutes before announcing the layoffs. To comply with regulations, the company will pay workers for 60 days through October 12, 2026, despite the immediate shutdown.
Despite the pay continuation, Joslin workers may lose company-sponsored healthcare coverage, potentially leaving them uninsured. One worker told local news channel KWQC that the short-term pay does not address long-term concerns for those hired recently or individuals ineligible for unemployment benefits.
Tyson executive leadership cited a severe, multi-year contraction in the national cattle supply as the primary driver for the closures. The company stated that elevated live cattle procurement costs and compressed beef packing profit margins necessitated the restructuring. Tyson projects a loss of $500 million to $650 million for its beef department in Fiscal Year 2026.
In response to these market conditions, Chief Executive Officer Donnie King initiated a strategy to consolidate beef operations into three facilities in Dakota City, Nebraska; Holcomb, Kansas; and Amarillo, Texas. Tyson plans to restore a second production shift at its Amarillo facility as cattle supply permits, shifting processing volume away from unionized regional plants in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest.
The closure of the Joslin plant has disrupted the regional agricultural supply chain. The facility accounted for a significant share of slaughter capacity along the Mississippi River corridor. Independent cattle feeders across the Midwest now face hauling distances of 160 to 400 miles to reach alternative processing facilities in neighboring states, adding substantial transport costs amid high fuel prices.
