JBS Plant Closures
JBS Closes Multiple Beef Plants in PA, TN, CA; Thousands of Jobs Impacted by Cattle Shortage
Key Points
The shortage narrative also includes a specific policy driver: a U.S. ban on Mexican cattle imports, imposed to block a “flesh-eating parasite,” further tightened available cattle supplies for meatpackers.
Analyst estimates in the coverage say meatpackers are losing roughly “$300 per head” as cattle prices rise, and JBS reported a “$279 million adjusted operating loss” for North American beef operations in the first three months of the year (vs. $158 million a year earlier).
The Souderton facility’s shutdown logistics were detailed: “about half” of the cattle processed there were trucked long distances (including from Iowa and Canada), while the other half came from culled dairy cows and livestock from the southeastern U.S. and upstate New York—JBS said the cattle would be shifted to other plants.
JBS framed continued U.S. spending alongside closures, including a planned “$150 million investment” in its much larger Cactus, Texas, beef plant, even as it shut down the smaller Pennsylvania and Memphis-area operations.
On the operations side, JBS said it has already been restructuring for efficiency: it “combined its beef and case-ready businesses into a more integrated platform” earlier in the year, and the company’s closure rationale cited recent “major expansions in Texas, Georgia and Iowa” to modernize and grow prepared foods/value-added capabilities.
JBS USA, the world's largest meatpacker, is closing its Souderton, Pennsylvania beef plant and a Memphis, Tennessee value-added facility, putting roughly 1,700 jobs at risk, according to Meat+Poultry. The shutdowns come as U.S. cattle supplies hit their lowest level since 1951, squeezing meatpackers so hard that analysts say they are losing about $300 for every animal they process, per Drovers.
JBS separately closed its Swift Beef Company plant in Riverside, California on February 2, cutting 374 jobs, Meat+Poultry reported. CEO Wesley Batista Filho called the moves part of a drive to keep operations "efficient, modern, and positioned to compete."
A Cattle Shortage Squeezing Meatpackers Into the Red
The U.S. cattle herd has shrunk to roughly 87 million head — the smallest since 1951. Years of drought in the Southern Plains pushed ranchers to sell off female cows instead of breeding them, blocking any herd recovery. On top of that, the USDA banned Mexican cattle imports in May 2025 to stop a flesh-eating parasite called the New World Screwworm. That ban cut off about one million head of cattle per year that U.S. packers typically rely on, according to Drovers.
The result: record-high cattle prices and collapsed margins. JBS reported a $279 million adjusted operating loss in North American beef operations in just the first three months of the year — up from a $158 million loss a year earlier, per Meatingplace. Analyst John Nalivika of Sterling Marketing Inc. said "the packing industry is hampered by over-capacity" as cattle numbers stay tight, making consolidation unavoidable.
JBS Shuts Smaller Plants, Bets Big on Texas Mega-Facility
The Souderton plant, near Philadelphia, slaughtered about 2,000 cattle per day. About half of those animals were trucked long distances from Iowa and Canada. The other half came from dairy cows and livestock from upstate New York and the Southeast, according to Meatingplace. JBS said it will shift that cattle supply to other plants. The August 14 closure will affect up to 1,700 workers, though union UFCW Local 1776 puts the figure at 1,500 jobs at risk.
Even as it shuts down Souderton and Memphis, JBS broke ground in February on a $150 million expansion at its much larger Cactus, Texas, plant, per Drovers. The company also cited recent expansions in Texas, Georgia, and Iowa as reasons the smaller, older plants are no longer needed. JBS framed the closures as "operational optimization" — moving volume to bigger, more modern hubs rather than retreating from the market altogether.
Tyson, Cargill, and a Wave of Industry Cutbacks
JBS is not acting alone. Tyson Foods permanently closed its Lexington, Nebraska plant on January 20, eliminating 3,212 jobs at a facility that processed 5,000 head per day, according to Drovers. Cargill locked out 1,700 workers at its Fort Morgan, Colorado beef plant in May after employees rejected a new contract by an 85% vote, per the live research briefing. Cargill said it has no plans to close U.S. primary beef plants and is investing instead.
Together, the moves signal a broader industry shift. The four largest meatpackers — JBS, Tyson, Cargill, and National Beef — control more than 80% of U.S. beef processing. When a plant like Souderton closes, farmers in Pennsylvania and New York lose a primary buyer for their cattle. That could push local livestock prices down even as grocery-store beef prices rise, according to the research briefing.
Workers Push Back as Union Demands WARN Act Transparency
UFCW Local 1776 President Wendell Young IV is pressing JBS to follow federal WARN Act rules, which require companies to give workers at least 60 days' notice before a mass layoff. The union wants full transparency on the August 14 shutdown timeline and is seeking transition support for affected employees, according to Drovers. Workers and labor groups argue the closures are a choice, not a necessity, pointing out that JBS reported $2 billion in net income in 2025.
The corporate response is that hard math leaves no other option. Losing $300 per head processed — with no quick fix to the cattle shortage in sight — makes smaller, less efficient plants impossible to sustain. The screwworm parasite is still spreading northward through Texas and New Mexico, Drovers reported, meaning further cattle movement restrictions and possibly more plant idlings could follow in the months ahead.
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