Springfield dry sausage plant to close, cutting 190 jobs

Business

Smithfield said it will absorb production in its other plants, with operations ending in August.

Smithfield Foods will shut down its Springfield dry sausage facility by August, a move that will eliminate 190 jobs and end the company’s only production operation in Massachusetts.

In a statement to Boston.com, Smithfield said it will shift the plant’s work to other packaged-meats facilities and it’s offering transition support to affected employees, including opportunities to apply for positions elsewhere in the company.

According to the company’s 2024 annual report, Smithfield operates 31 production plants in the U.S. and Mexico, with the nearest facility to Massachusetts located in New Jersey. 

The closure comes just weeks after Smithfield reached a nearly $140,000 settlement with the EPA over alleged Clean Air Act violations.

EPA inspections in 2021 found problems with how the Springfield plant managed anhydrous ammonia, a hazardous chemical used in refrigeration.

“Workers and communities deserve to be protected from dangerous chemical releases,” Mark Sanborn, the EPA’s New England regional administrator, said in a statement. “EPA is taking this action to protect human health and the environment.”

Smithfield has since fixed the issues and is now in compliance.

A company spokesperson told Boston.com that the shutdown is unrelated to the EPA settlement.

“Smithfield remains steadfast in our commitment to transparent reporting on our environmental practices,” the spokesperson said.

Smithfield, owned by the Chinese company WH Group, is known for its packaged meats and fresh pork, with annual sales of over $14 billion. 

In 2025, the company, which has its U.S. headquarters in Virginia, returned to the public markets for the first time in more than a decade. It went private in 2013 when WH Group acquired it. Smithfield, with the tagline “Good Food. Responsibly.” employs about 32,000 people worldwide. 

Beth Treffeisen is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on local news, crime, and business in the New England region.