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Pilgrim's To Stop Production At Batesville Plant

Pilgrim's Pride

Pilgrim's Pride Corp. says it will stop production at its poultry processing plant in Batesville, but officials say a deal is in the works to sell the plant to another food company.

A spokesman for Pilgrim's Pride says the company notified workers Wednesday that it would stop production in Batesville in 60 days.

Spokesman Cameron Bruett says the closure of the Batesville plant is part of the company's broader corporate strategy.

More than 470 people work at the plant in Batesville. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Rogers-based poultry company OMP Foods is in discussions to purchase the Batesville facility.

An OMP Foods spokesman declined to comment on the deal but said representatives from its subsidiary, Ozark Mountain Poultry, would be visiting Batesville next week to distribute job applications.