Simmons Prepared Food announced recently that it is consolidating the current Siloam Springs slaughter production pounds into their Decatur, Arkansas facility. In addition, the Decatur, Arkansas hatchery will be consolidated into the Jane, Missouri facility. The company said that the increase in feed grains costs has made it necessary for them to reduce costs. After these changes, Simmons will still employ over 1,200 people in Siloam Springs and almost 700 in Decatur.
“We will make every effort to offer open positions to the affected employees, said Todd Simmons, “and we look forward to poultry industry conditions where it will make sense to resume production in our Siloam Springs facility,” said Todd Simmons, the company’s chief operating officer. Simmons is also exploring other uses for the facility at this time. “This change will still give us the ability to grow at a rate to meet our current and future customer’s needs, and it will allow us to do so with a more competitive cost structure,” he said.