Tyson Foods Inc. will close its beef processing plant in Lexington, Nebraska, in January, a move affecting approximately 3,200 employees, as the U.S. beefpacking industry contends with a prolonged national cattle shortage.
The company will also reduce operations at its Amarillo, Texas, beef plant to a single full-capacity shift, affecting about 1,700 workers at the facility roughly 450 miles from the Mexican border.
The restructuring reflects U.S. cattle supplies at their lowest level in nearly 75 years, the company said. The scarcity of available cattle directly pressures processing capacity for major meatpackers.
President Donald Trump said last month he was working to bring down prices as consumers face inflationary pressures. The current industry adjustments, however, stem from supply-side constraints rather than demand dynamics.
Industry analysts said more U.S. beef plants may close as cattle herds continue to shrink, forcing meatpackers to scale processing infrastructure to lower volumes.
Reduced U.S. beef production capacity could affect export markets. The Amarillo plant's curtailed operations are tied in part to U.S. beef exports to China, signaling potential shifts in international trade flows.
