(NAFB.com) – Smithfield Foods will close its Altoona, Iowa, ham boning facility and consolidate the production volume at other locations to improve the efficiency of its manufacturing platform. Smithfield says it will provide transition assistance to the 314 employees at 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 Smithfield. “We appreciate the great work our Altoona employees have done over the years and are committed to supporting every employee through the transition,” says Doug Sutton, chief manufacturing officer at Smithfield Foods. “We’ve been successful in retaining many of our people in positions with Smithfield during previous consolidations and will provide information about opportunities at other Smithfield locations.” Production from Smithfield’s Altoona facility will be consolidated into existing company facilities in Monmouth, Illinois, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Crete, Nebraska.