Tyson Closing Maine Facility

NEW YORK - Dec 3/04 - SNS -- Tyson Foods will close the Jordan's Meats plant in Portland, Maine, effective February 1, 2005 and shift production to other locations.

The 285 workers affected by the closing will be encouraged to apply for job openings at other Tyson locations. They will also have an opportunity to meet with other local employers at a job fair Tyson intends to host. Tyson will comply with Maine's Severance Pay Law. Displaced workers will receive either the Tyson Severance Pay Policy or be paid in line with the State of Maine's Severance Pay Law, whichever is greater.

The plant makes sliced meats and cooked roast beef primarily under such brand names as "Jordan's" and "Kirschner" and also produces "private label" products for retail and foodservice customers across the country. After the closing, these products and brands will continue to be sold in the region, but will be produced by Tyson plants in New York, Iowa, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

The Portland plant is a 65,000 square foot, two-story facility built in 1963. It became part of Tyson Foods in 2001, when the company acquired IBP, Inc.