Tyson Plant Closure in Iowa Highlights Troubling Trend of Factory Shutdowns Under Biden-Harris Administration

Clear Facts

• The Tyson Foods meat processing plant in Perry, Iowa, which employed roughly 25% of the town’s working-age population, has shut down due to obsolescence and the high cost of modernizing the facility.
• Approximately 200 workers from the Tyson plant have been relocated to other company facilities in Iowa and in other states. The closure of the plant directly or indirectly affects about 60% of the town’s population.
• This follows a trend of U.S. factories closing, notably Quaker Oats in Illinois and Tupperware in the U.S., which have opted for modern facilities and lower wages abroad, respectively. Meanwhile, recent labor statistics reveal that the U.S. economy, under the Biden-Harris administration, seems to be favoring foreign-born workers over native-born Americans.

The town of Perry, Iowa, is grappling with the silent emptiness left in the wake of its largest employer’s exit. The Tyson Foods meat processing plant, a cornerstone of Perry’s economy, has shut its doors for good.

The plant, due to its antiquated operation, was facing an unfeasibly expensive overhaul. “The Tyson plant employed about 25% of Perry’s working-age residents before it shuttered, according to city and county officials. Accounting for workers’ families and businesses directly related to the plant, about 60% of the town is affected by the closure.”

But the impact extends beyond Perry. Two hundred workers from the plant have been absorbed into Tyson’s other facilities across Iowa and beyond. This relocation, however, does little to alleviate the economic strain on the town.

This plant closure isn’t an isolated incident. Earlier this year, Quaker Oats announced the shutdown of its Danville, Illinois factory, impacting nearly 500 workers. “In a statement, Quaker Oats said that after a granola bar recall in December, it decided it was best to consolidate manufacturing of the product in a newer facility,” it was noted.

Moreover, Tupperware joined the exodus of U.S. manufacturing, closing its last American factory and shifting production to Mexico, presumably to leverage lower wages. As these factories close their doors, jobs are lost, and communities are left to grapple with the economic aftermath.

Despite this, Vice President Kamala Harris claimed in July that she and President Joe Biden had created 800,000 manufacturing jobs. However, critiques argue this statement may be misleading, citing the impact of the global pandemic on job numbers during the Trump administration.

Furthermore, an analysis of a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report reveals a concerning trend under the Biden-Harris administration. “In July, 1.2 million fewer Americans held jobs compared to a year prior. At the same time, 1.3 million more foreign-born workers are holding jobs — suggesting that most job growth in the Biden-Harris economy is going to newly arrived migrants,” it was reported.

In conclusion, the closure of Perry’s Tyson plant is symptomatic of a larger, troubling trend in the American job market. As factories close and jobs disappear, it’s the American workers, particularly those in small-town America, who bear the brunt of the economic fallout.

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