JBS Foods, the leading producer of beef in the United States, plans to close its Swift Beef Company processing plant in Southern California on Feb. 2, the company confirmed Monday.
The company filed a notice with the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) system earlier this month, notifying the state of its plans, which will affect 374 employees at the 170,000-square-foot plant, located about an hour east of Los Angeles in Riverside, California.
The closure was seen as a non-event in the U.S. beef market, which has seen record prices this year driven by a historically tight cattle supply.
The plant does not slaughter cattle, but instead produces ready-for-sale meat for grocers, according to a statement….