Willow Brooks Food Inc.

The largest U.S.-based private meat producer said recently that it had acquired Willow Brook Foods Inc., a Springfield, Mo. turkey processor. The purchase by Cargill Value Added Meats, a unit of Wichita, Kan.-based Cargill Meat Solutions, will result in the shuttering of two Willow Brook plants in Springfield and the elimination of 780 jobs there. The displaced workers will be offered relocation packages to transfer to plants in Springdale or California, Mo., where Cargill is adding new shifts. There are 150 positions available at each plant, and 160 more available through-out Cargill's meat business, a company spokesman said. Cargill made a similar offer recently to workers displaced when a Cargill beef plant in Booneville was destroyed by fire. The company encouraged the 800 displaced workers to move to facilities in Springdale, Missouri or Virginia.