Tyson plant closing announcement takes Perry by surprise, but city leaders vow to rebound

Kristy Hupp couldn't sleep Monday night.

Hupp's hometown of Perry had just experienced what she called the second "disaster of a lifetime" in the span of just two months with the announcement that the city's largest employer, Tyson Foods, would shutter its 1,276-employee pork plant at the end of June.

The devastating news follows January shootings at Perry High School that left three people dead, including the principal, wounded six others and closed the city's schools for weeks. Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, speaking to reporters on a call Tuesday from Washington, called Tyson's announcement "a great big punch to the gut" for the Dallas County city of 8,000.

Hupp, the owner of a dog grooming and boarding business, witnessed the effect almost immediately.

"I had a client, 61 years old, show up yesterday crying," she said. "She has worked at Tyson for 20 years and said she doesn't even know how to look for another job. This is going to really hurt the entire community. Those jobs are what keep small businesses growing and thriving."

The restless, worried Hupp on Monday night did what she had done after the school tragedy: filled a bin outside her business with dog food, free for anyone who needs it to take home to a hungry pet.

More: The Tyson plant in Perry, Iowa, is closing after 61 years. What we know about its plans.

"I have so many friends that work at Tyson, and I couldn't sleep thinking about what they are going through. Now they have to worry about their kids going back to school and trying to find new jobs," Hupp said, adding that at least those with dogs will have one less thing to be concerned about.

Can Perry bounce back from Tyson closing?

She was one of many Perry residents and leaders the Des Moines Register interviewed on Tuesday who expressed shock and dismay at the Tyson announcement, which came without warning for most. Heather Nahas, Gov. Kim Reynolds' communications director, said the state was informed about the plant closure only a short time before the public announcement.

But as with the shooting tragedy, some in Perry also conveyed confidence that the city once again will be able to rebound.

Among them was local banker Matt McDevitt, past president of Perry Economic Development. The organization's website recalls how, after a meatpacking plant closed in Perry in the mid-1950s, the Iowa Pork Co. organized to build a new plant on the now-Tyson site in 1962.

More: New Iowa mobile workforce center to be dispatched to Perry for Tyson plant workers

Oscar Mayer Inc. bought the plant in 1965. On Christmas Eve 1988, just as the company was preparing to close the plant, it announced that it would instead sell it to IBP Inc., and that it would remain in operation. Tyson took over IBP in 2001.

"Perry has dealt with similar situations in the past," McDevitt said.. "This is something we can overcome."

He pointed to the well-documented shortage of labor across Iowa and the soon to-be-available workforce in Perry, along with an empty 30,000-square-foot, spec-built structure in the city's 350-acre industrial park, state-certified as development ready, as assets that Perry can leverage in its favor.

"This community has shown time and time again that we are resilient," he said. "We have a lot of brainpower to find solutions, a good group of leaders that care a lot about this community."

McDevitt said the group's board will meet with city officials soon to discuss options and decide a plan going forward. They remain in the dark as to exactly what Tyson's plans are for the plant after it closes in June. "But we have a site, and we will have workers available, so you never know when a prospect is going to show up."

McDevitt said the governor's office and Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham already have offered support to the community. Mayor Dirk Cavanaugh said he had met with Tyson officials to press them about what help the Arkansas company might provide employees and the community.

The company had already said it will seek to employ the Perry workforce in some of its other Iowa plants.

“Our first priority is going to be to help all the employees affected and try to get them back to work, whether it be in Perry or somewhere else,” Cavanaugh said. “And then we'll assess how we replace jobs that may have moved somewhere else.”

Key will be finding another company to purchase the 384,300-square-foot plant just west of the city limits, adding that Tyson told him “it’s not just going to be a shut-the-door, leave-it-alone" departure.

"They will find a buyer,” said Cavanaugh, adding that Perry and Iowa economic development officials also will work to sell the building.

A meatpacking plant would be the best fit for the space and workers' skills, he said, though he’s concerned Tyson may balk at selling the building to a direct competitor. “If someone else comes in, it could take months to retool” the space, he said.

Still, “we can think of a lot of companies that could use it,” he said, noting that with its sizable floorspace, the plant could serve as a capacious warehouse.

Perry also would like Tyson to provide “some sort of a severance, not just for the employees, but for the city,” he said. “We do supply them with a lot of services.”

"They're shutting the doors to save a bunch of money," he said, and the city wants to know if Tyson is "willing to give us a little bit of those savings to help us get through this."

He said he expected to talk with state economic development officials Tuesday afternoon, "opening channels on what they can do."

Closure will have 'big trickle-down' impact, mayor says

Cavanaugh said it's not just Perry that will suffer from the closure. The economic effects will ripple throughout the region, hitting trucking companies, pork producers, feed suppliers and others. "There's a big trickle-down" impact, he said.

It will be a topic of major concern for Lou Hoyer, site manager of the Perry Food Pantry. He recalled a past board member always being protective of the $25,000 the organization had in the bank, asking, "What would we do if Tyson's shut down?"

Now that the nightmare scenario is coming to pass, Hoyer said his concern is more logistical than financial, pointing to the pantry's cramped quarters on Perry's east side.

The food pantry served 509 households and 1,875 individuals last year, he said, adding, "We could not handle another 100 households. We would likely need to look at a different mode of distribution."

If it does, it will be one of many adaptions for Perry.

"There are people with whole families that work there. It's going to hurt," said Gracie Danger, owner of Perry Paint and Glass.

While she is trying to remain hopeful, Danger said she fears a "mass exodus" of workers leaving town in pursuit of new jobs.

So does Bonnie Ikerd, a lifelong Perry resident.

“My cousin’s daughter works there, and she’s been there for 15 years," Ikerd said. "She doesn’t know what she’s going to do after it closes.”

Ikerd hopes that the plant is eventually bought out by another company that can provide those who lose their jobs a second chance.

“It’s rough; it really is,” Ikerd said. “I’d hate for this community to become some sort of ghost town. That’s what might happen if there’s not another business.”

Others in the community shared Ikerd’s view. Vance Sturm, financial adviser and owner of Generations Wealth Advisors in Perry, envisions a wide range of potential negative effects.

“If the plant doesn’t reopen, what are those families going to do?” Sturm said. “Local businesses are going to hurt, from grocery stores to restaurants. It’s going to affect downtown and affect real estate evaluations.”

The closing of the plant may lead to less funding in local schools because of lower student counts if families decide to move out of the area, he said.

“I feel bad for the community,” he said. "But we got to pull together. A couple months ago we had a devastating event here and now we’re going to have another one. It won’t be as devastating emotionally, but financially for families and the city, it’s going to hurt.”

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Tyson plant in Perry, Iowa, is closing. City leaders vow to rebound.