030625 Perdue to Close Two Plants in VA & NC

Salisbury, MD - Perdue Farms Inc. announced that 900 workers would lose their jobs when the poultry company closes two plants in Virginia and North Carolina.

A processing plant with 350 employees in Robersonville, N.C., will close Aug. 22; a deboning plant with 550 workers in Emporia, Va., is to shut down Sept. 19, the company said.

Perdue, based in Salisbury, MD, is streamlining operations but not planning any other closures, spokeswomanTita Cherrier said.

"The decision to close these two operations was not taken lightly as we recognize the impact it will have on our associates, their families and the communities, " Perdue President Mike Roberts said in a statement.

The two plants' operations will be transferred to other facilities, Cherrier said. Deboning, for example, will be done in complexes that also process poultry.

Perdue and other poultry companies are streamlining so they can focus on popular "value- added" products -- such as pre-marinated, pre-cut breasts and nuggets that consumers can easily prepare.

Perdue operates a total of 18 processing plants, including four others in North Carolina and four others in Virginia, Cherrier said. The company will try to transfer workers to other plants in their home states, she said.

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