Foster Farms plans to permanently close its fresh turkey processing plant in Central California and lay off more than 500 employees, according to a notice processed Feb. 28 by the state.
The company says changes in market demand prompted the shuttering of its plant in Turlock, California.
The closure will put 478 workers out of work at its F Street location in the central California farming community, located in Stanislaus County about 100 miles east of San Francisco.
The company will close two other locations in Turlock as well—a trucking yard for live turkeys on C Street, and a feed mill located on West Main Street.
A total of 519 manufacturing workers will lose their Foster Farms jobs permanently in Turlock when the company closes the plant May 9, according to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice submitted to California.
A company announcement cited by the Turlock Journal Jan. 28 said that the company does not plan to cease operations in California.
“Foster Farms will continue to have a significant presence in the Central Valley and remain a key employer in the Turlock community with the continued operation of its fully cooked poultry facility there,” the press release stated. “No other Foster Farms facilities will be impacted.”
Turlock City Councilwoman Rebecka Monez told the local newspaper most of the workers laid off are in her heavily Hispanic district, and said the company had assured her they would be transferred to other locations.
The family-owned company, headquartered in Livingston, Calif., was acquired by private equity firm Atlas Holdings in July 2022.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Longtime poultry industry leader Donnie Smith, former CEO of Tyson Foods, was named Foster Farms’ CEO and board chairman after Atlas Holdings bought the company. Smith was succeeded by former Pilgrim’s Pride executive Jayson Penn in March of last year.
Foster Farms was founded in 1939 on a small farm in Modesto, California. The company specializes in fresh, all-natural chicken and turkey products free of preservatives and additives, according to its website.
The company is based in California’s Central Valley, with ranches in the Pacific Northwest. It employs more than 12,000 workers nationwide, according to the company’s website. Its major processing facilities are in California, Washington, Louisiana, Oregon, and Alabama.
The closures come as customer demand for turkey product continues to fall nationwide. The average price per pound of whole turkey continued to slip in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), reaching $0.94 per pound, The price per pound jumped to a high of $1.55 in 2022.
Compounding the situation for Foster Farms is the viral bird flu, has cost the U.S. poultry industry billions of dollars.
Foster Farms also produces pre-marinated, ready-to-cook and fully cooked products for consumers, retailers, warehouse clubs, and foodservice customers at its Turlock facility.
The Turlock plant was one of three Foster Farms plants threatened with a shutdown in 2013 by the USDA after 300 people were sickened by a bacterial strain of salmonella Heidelberg, according to the federal agency.
The USDA issued a public health alert in October 2013 after concerns about the salmonella strain led them to investigate raw chicken products at the company’s three facilities in California, including its Turlock plant.
Foster Farms’ turkey production was also the target of animal-rights groups in 2015. The group Animal Outlook said it had documented inhumane conditions at the company’s turkey processing facilities.
The Turlock plant closure is the second major turkey processing facility to announce a closure in the United States this year. Cargill Inc. announced it plans to close its turkey plant in Springdale, Arkansas, by Aug. 1, affecting about 1,100 employees, according to Reuters.
Cargill’s production will be shifted to processing facilities in Missouri and Virginia, according to the company.
“It is the right move to make for the future of our turkey business. Turkey remains an essential part of Cargill’s protein portfolio,” the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
