A recent request by JBS-Swift to expand its Butchertown, US pork abattoir has officials considering asking JBS to move the plant out of town, according to the Louisville’s Courier-Journal newspaper.
JBS was to ask the Louisville Metro Board of Zoning Adjustment to modify its zoning permit so that the company can continue a US$2 million expansion project there.
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JBS reportedly violated the permit late last year by beginning construction without permission; the city issued a stop-work order and fined JBS US$500.
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Meanwhile, neighbours have complain that the old slaughterhouse is no longer viable with a section of town that is becoming increasingly residential. The Butchertown plant processes more than 10,000 hogs per day and employs more than 1,300 people
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A spokesman for Mayor Jerry Abramson was quoted as saying Butchertown officials continue to discuss with JBS “the possibility of a new location.”
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The newspaper report quotes JBS spokesman Chandler Keys as saying the company has reviewed other sites, but noted a new plant would cost some US$400 million.