PERRY, Iowa (WHO) — The Tyson plant in Perry will close Friday, taking 1,300 jobs along with it. Since the announcement of the meat processing plant’s closure, the city of Perry has worked to find jobs for the workers.
“So in the last couple of months, just preparing for the closure of the Tyson facility here in Perry, there’s been a group called PerryNext that has formed, which is a collaboration from state officials, county officials and local folks just all trying to put their heads together and their resources together to really find solutions to some of the issues,” said Sven Peterson, the City Administrator for the City of Perry.
Peterson said some plant workers have already found new jobs while others plan to move to another Tyson plant. There are also workers who still need to find employment when the plant shuts down.
“It’s kind of a mixed bag on what all of those employees are going to be doing. There’s some that have found employment and have already moved on to new careers. There’s some that have plans established whether that’s moving to another Tyson facility somewhere or have work lined up for post-closure. And then I think there’s still some that are kind of holding out ’til the plant closes. And they have some of that time off in the interim where they can really focus on their next steps,” Peterson said.
Iowa Workforce Development is one of the organizations working to help those who will be affected by the Tyson plant’s closure. They are operating out of the DMACC Van Kirk Career Academy in Perry.