After The News Courier broke the story that Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. plans to close its Athens chicken processing facility in October, a corporate spokesman released a statement Friday morning saying “many” of the 640 employees here will be offered positions at other company locations. Spokesman Ray Atkinson said these workers will be offered a choice of locations.

The company has four other plants in Alabama — in Russellville, Guntersville, Boaz and Enterprise — and others across the country.

An employee who asked not to be named said a new manager was brought to the site Wednesday to handle the plant’s closure.

The corporate press release also states a plant in Athens, Ga., will close and operations will consolidate to other facilities.

The press release does not state how many jobs from the local plant will transfer to other locations, but adds: “The company will provide transition programs to employees who are not retained in order to assist them in securing new employment, filing for unemployment and obtaining other applicable benefits.”

In addition, it states: “The hatchery in Moulton, Ala., the feed mill in Falkville, Ala., and other live production operations associated with the Athens (Ala.) plant will continue to operate.”

While an employee stated that workers were told Wednesday the plant would close Oct. 6, the press release states operations will cease “within 60-75 days.”

Closure of the plants in Athens, Ala., and Athens, Ga., is part of the company’s “continuing effort to improve capacity utilization and reduce costs,” the press release states. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December.

Pilgrim’s Pride president Don Jackson said it is possible the Athens plant could reopen “should market conditions justify it.”

“As we work to restructure Pilgrim’s Pride as a market-driven company, we must continue to look for ways to reduce our costs and operate more efficiently,” Jackson said in the press release. “A key component of that effort is improving our capacity utilization through plant consolidation and other operational changes. While the decision to idle a plant and eliminate jobs is always painful — and we regret that it is necessary — it is absolutely critical to the future of Pilgrim's Pride that we make better use of our assets.”

Production from the Athens, Ala., plant will be consolidated into two other Pilgrim's Pride complexes, bringing those facilities to full capacity.

Production from the company’s Athens, Ga., plant on Oneta Street with 330 workers will be consolidated at the neighboring Barber Street plant and at several other company complexes in north Georgia, bringing those facilities to full capacity. The live production operations, including hatcheries and feed mills, will continue to operate.

The company does not expect any significant reduction in the number of Pilgrim’s Pride contract growers in Athens, Ala., or Athens, Ga., as a direct result of the closures and the press release states supply should not be affected.