Montco meat processing, slated for closure, will stay open with fewer workers
Meat producer JBS halted plans to close a Souderton facility that employed 1,700. It will be repurposed, preserving 400 jobs.
A meat processing facility in Souderton that was slated for closure this week will remain open, downsizing its staff from about 1,700 to 400.
Global meat producer JBS announced in June that it would shut down the facility as part of a larger strategy focused on “growth, modernization, and long-term competitiveness in the United States.” This week, the company said it changed plans and will keep the plant open, transitioning the site to a new use.
“This outcome allows us to preserve 400 good-paying jobs, strengthen our case-ready business, and continue serving customers in a key consumer market,” said Wesley Batista Filho, CEO of JBS USA.
The plant has been one of Montgomery County’s top 25 employers, recently employing roughly 1,700 people. The majority of them are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 1776.
JBS plans to keep roughly 400 workers at the facility as it moves away from beef processing to become part of the business’ “value-added operation” arm. According to the company website, that side of the business is dedicated to “further-processed beef and pork products, and retail packaged meats.”
The plan includes investing over $30 million over the next 10 years to “modernize and enhance” the Souderton facility, the company said.
“This announcement provides stability for hundreds of workers and their families while creating a path for long-term success at the Souderton facility,” said Wendell Young IV, president of UFCW Local 1776.
JBS is the company behind food brands such as Pilgrim’s, and Just Bare. Most recently, the majority of the Souderton plant employees were in the fabrication department, which processes animal parts that move along a conveyor belt, according to the union.
The change in plans comes after discussions between the union, JBS, county officials, and Gov. Josh Shapiro, among other stakeholders.
“Pennsylvania’s agriculture and manufacturing industries have powered our economy for generations, and we’re making sure they continue to drive our future,” Shapiro said in a statement. “This facility will remain an important economic driver for Montgomery County.”
JBS has operated the Souderton facility since 2008, and had planned to distribute the work being done there among its other facilities.
Workers at the Souderton facility are among some 26,000 JBS employees who secured a new union contract last year with better wages and benefits including a more inclusive bereavement leave policy and the ability to accrue sick days.
The contract also established a pension plan for workers. That’s a rarity in the industry in recent decades, according to the union, which called the agreement “a new standard” in the meatpacking industry.
State Sen. Maria Collett, who represents Franconia Township, said in a social media post that the change in plans for the plant “came from the real collaboration of Governor Shapiro and his administration, the state Department of Agriculture, UFCW Local 1776, and countless Montgomery County officials.”
“No amount of job loss is something to celebrate, and harvesting operations at the plant will still wind down this week,” said Collett. “Some of our neighbors are facing a hard road.”
