CHICAGO, Dec. 12 (Reuters) – JBS will permanently close a facility outside Los Angeles that prepares beef for sale at U.S. grocery stores, the world’s largest meat company said on Friday, as tight cattle supplies have raised costs for meatpackers.
JBS will shut its Swift Beef Company facility in Riverside, California, on Feb. 2, eliminating 374 jobs, according to a notice from the state’s Employment Development Department.
Beef prices set record highs this year after ranchers slashed the U.S. cattle herd to its lowest level in decades due to a persistent drought that dried up pasture lands. A halt on U.S. imports of Mexican cattle tightened supplies further, as Washington seeks to keep out a flesh-eating parasite…