Smithfield Foods to move 115 jobs to Virginia

Smithfield Foods — the nation’s largest pork producer — announced Tuesday that it’s bringing about 115 jobs to Virginia’s Tidewater region over the coming months.

The Smithfield-based company is relocating the positions from regional offices in the Midwest to the company’s headquarters in Smithfield. Positions include finance, procurement, human resources, IT and other support functions.

“Smithfield Foods is committed to investing and growing the local communities where we live, work and call home,” said Jim Monroe, vice president of corporate affairs for Smithfield Foods, in a statement. “We’re proud of our roots in Smithfield, Virginia, since 1936, and look forward to bringing these positions to the Tidewater area to help strengthen the local economy.”

A company spokesperson said the relocation of employees is expected to occur by the end of next year.

Founded in 1936 and headquartered in Smithfield, Smithfield Foods provides packaged meats and fresh pork products throughout the U.S. and various countries worldwide. The company says the vast majority of its products are consumed in the U.S. and it employs about 33,000 people nationwide.

In Virginia, the company employs 1,800 people. The company says it generates $3.9 million in annual tax revenue for the state, and provides $2.5 million in cash and in-kind donations.

In January, Smithfield launched its IPO of 26 million stock shares at $20 per share on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, raising $522 million. Its former parent company, Hong Kong-based WH Group, remains its majority shareholder, holding approximately 92.7% of Smithfield Foods’ outstanding shares of common stock as of late March.

In September 2024, Smithfield’s European operations were carved into an independent subsidiary now known as Morliny Foods, part of a streamlining effort before going public.

Smithfield Foods also said it would transfer some of its hog farming operations to a venture controlled by Murphy Family Ventures in North Carolina, Bloomberg reported earlier in December 2024.

According to SEC filings, Smithfield paid Murphy $3 million in cash in exchange for a 25% minority interest in the enterprise, which will supply approximately 3.2 million hogs to Smithfield annually.

In December 2024, Smithfield sold its hog production assets in Utah for $58 million, resulting in a gain of $32 million, and in November 2024, the company sold some of its Missouri hog farms for $32 million at a loss of $4 million.