Tyson Pulls Back From the Beleaguered Beef Business

August 14, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Tyson Pulls Back From the Beleaguered Beef Business

Tyson Foods announced it will close a major beef processing plant in Illinois, sell another facility in Washington, and shutter a packaging plant in Utah — moves that together amount to the company shedding roughly a third of its beef processing operations this year. The cuts come as a years-long cattle shortage has pushed domestic supplies to their lowest level in 75 years, sharply driving up costs for meat processors. Speaking on an earnings call earlier this month, CEO Donnie King acknowledged the pressure: "We haven't performed the way we expected. And we're not pretending otherwise. But we're controlling what we can control there." Earlier this year, Tyson already closed one of the industry's largest beef plants in Nebraska and scaled back production at a Texas facility.

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Show Notes

A.M. Edition for Aug. 14. Meatpacking giant Tyson Foods is planning to close a major beef processing plant, its latest bid to cut costs as the industry tries to cope with a yearslong cattle shortage. Plus, President Trump turns to tariffs to try and reshore drone production. And WSJ South Asia bureau chief Tripti Lahiri takes us inside the frantic scramble for work in India, where thousands of young people are competing for each new job. Luke Vargas hosts.

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