Douglas Chicken Processing Plant Closing Down

A Texas-based company's decision to close down several of its chicken processing plants will hit local residents here in the Atlanta area.

According to Pilgrim's Pride Corp., the company is closing three of its 32 processing plants, including the one in Douglas. With that closing, some 900 Georgia jobs are being eliminated.

Closing the plant in Douglas will drop the company's production by around 10 percent, with workforce numbers seeing around a seven percent cut.

The decision to close three of the plants will also impact more than 100 independent chicken farmers in Georgia.

The Douglas plant, which was run by Gold Kist Inc. and purchased by Pilgrim's Pride two years ago, is expected to be shut down by mid-May.

"The idling of these three plants is a painful reflection of the unprecedented challenges facing our company and our industry from an excess supply of chicken and weakening consumer demand resulting from a crippled economy," said Don Jackson, president and chief executive officer. "Simply put, we are producing too much commodity chicken in what is a very weak market. The actions announced will reduce our production of low-value, commodity meat that is a financial drain on the company without affecting any of our core business lines or customers."