Pilgrims breaks ground on $400 million Walker County plant, projects 630 jobs

Pilgrims broke ground on a new prepared-foods facility in the Walker County Business Park, a company expansion the county said involves a $400,000,000 investment announced in July and is expected to create more than 630 new jobs once fully operational. Joe Leggee, host of Walker 180, reported the multi-phase plant will produce a range of fully cooked chicken products sold under the Just Bare, Pilgrims and Goldkist brands.

The project represents a prominent expansion of Pilgrims' U.S. footprint and includes a community component the company described as its "hometown strong" program. An unnamed Pilgrims representative told Walker 180 that the program supports community projects unrelated to plant operations, citing libraries, food banks and splash pads as examples. "We want to be part of the community," the company representative said.

County officials and the company did not disclose a detailed construction timetable or when the facility will open. Joe Leggee noted that specific Walker County project details "remain in development and will be announced at a later date." The company said the facility will be multi-phase; additional operational milestones and local hiring schedules were not specified in the broadcast.

If completed as described, the plant would add hundreds of local jobs and expand Pilgrims' prepared-foods capacity in the United States. The county and company did not provide further details in the episode about tax incentives, local infrastructure support or the timeline for phased openings. The project remains subject to any local permitting and construction timelines required for new industrial facilities.