Tyson Foods announced today that it will lay off 480 employees at its facility in Council Bluffs, Iowa as it plans to shift some production of meats to plants in Tennessee and Texas. The Iowa plant packages steaks, roasts, chops, ground beef and other case-ready meats. The lay offs are set to begin March 22. Tyson is encouraging affected workers to apply for other positions within the company. The facilities in Texas and Tennessee are closer to their customer base and will make more effective use of current production capacity for case-ready meats according to Tyson spokesmen.

Tyson Foods was founded in 1935 and is based in Springdale, Arkansas. It is the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork. The company has 117,000 workers at 400 locations throughout the world.