July 9 (Reuters) - Tyson Foods ( TSN ) said on Tuesday

it will sell its Georgia-based poultry complex to chicken

products maker House of Raeford Farms, as the U.S meatpacker

looks to cut costs amid subdued demand.

The company has been grappling over the last few quarters

with price-conscious customers cutting back on meat purchases

and has made efforts to return to profitability by shuttering

chicken, beef and pork plants, as well as laying off corporate

employees.

Tyson said House of Raeford Farms intends to continue

poultry processing at the complex in Vienna, Georgia and would

utilize the existing workforce.

The U.S. meatpacker, whose finance chief was suspended after

arrest for intoxicated driving in June, said it would continue

to serve customer orders from other production locations.

The terms of the agreement, which are subject to approval

from U.S. regulators, were not disclosed.

In March, the company had announced it would permanently

close a pork plant in Perry, Iowa, eliminating about 1,200 jobs.

This step was in addition to the closure of six chicken plants

in the United States since the beginning of 2023.

In December, egg producer Cal-Maine Foods ( CALM ) had also

agreed to acquire a shut chicken broiler processing plant,

hatchery and feed mill in Dexter, Missouri, from Tyson.