 Another closing of an Iowa meat production plant. This time it's the Smithfield Hamboning Facility in Altoona. As they consolidate the production volume at other locations to improve the efficiency of their manufacturing platform, Smithfield says it will provide transition assistance to the 314 employees of the facility who will be affected by the closure. The company will meet with employees individually to provide additional details about the transition plans, including severance and potential employment opportunities with other Smithfield operations.