Jun 12, 2006 10:16 AM, from staff and wire reports

Smithfield Packing Co plans to cease production at its Madison FL facility. This process will begin over the next 30 days and conclude no later than Oct 31, 2006. The plant closing in Florida will affect 486 employees.

The subsidiary of Smithfield Foods Inc also plans to consolidate processed meats operations from its two Smithfield VA facilities into a single operation. The plant consolidation in Smithfield could affect up to 125 people. The company remains committed to manufacturing in Smithfield and is working with union officials regarding affected employees.

"We started a process 18 months ago to ensure that we have efficient manufacturing infrastructure to support our sales plans and strategy," said Joseph W Luter IV, president of Smithfield Packing. "With new manufacturing capacity coming on line in Kinston NC, in several months, we are shifting operations among other plants to meet these plans. We acquired the Madison facility in September 2004 and have struggled to run it efficiently or profitably from the beginning."