Drought causes job loss in San Angelo

SAN ANGELO – San Angelo Packing Co. Inc., a cattle-slaughtering and meat-processing plant at 1809 N. Bell St., closed because severe drought conditions led to a lack of livestock supply, said John C. Sims, a member of the company’s board of directors.

About 200 employees were laid off. Texas Workforce Solutions will hold a rapid-response program for the displaced workers at 9 a.m. April 4 at the packing plant, said Cathy Ballard, planning director at the Concho Valley Workforce Development Board.

Until recently the company processed 350-400 cattle daily. Before the drought became severe in 2011, that number was closer to 700, and the company purchased its cattle from within a 100-mile radius of San Angelo.

If the drought were to break and the Concho Valley’s parched landscape were to get its overdue quenching, the packing facility could reopen — though not until at least three years after the drought broke, Sims said.