EL DORADO, Ark.—Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. has told managers and workers at its facilities in El Dorado that the plants may be shut down if the company does not see improvement in quality and a return on its investment, the company said Thursday.

More than 1,600 people work at a processing plant, a feed mill and a hatchery in Union County owned by Pilgrim’s Pride.

Pilgrim’s Pride spokesman Ray Atkinson said Thursday there is no timetable for the plant to turn itself around, but he said there isn’t much time.

“This is an extremely serious situation in El Dorado. We don’t want to close that complex, but unless there are immediate changes that will be our only option,” Atkinson said.

On March 12, the company announced the closure of a processing plant in North Carolina and six of its 12 distribution centers. The company also said it would review its other operations and would consider more closures.

The assessment at El Dorado is part of that review, Atkinson said.

The company has been straining from skyrocketing feed costs, with $1.3 billion annually in added feed costs compared with two years ago.

“We are in a situation where we have to do some things to adjust to that,” Atkinson said. Pilgrim’s Pride purchased the El Dorado plant in 2003 when ConAgra sold its poultry operations.

“We’ve invested millions in that facility and have not seen a return on that investment,” Atkinson said.

Executives from Pittsburg, Texas-based Pilgrim’s Pride met with workers on Tuesday and Wednesday to explain their thinking. The plant’s costs are too high and quality is below that of similar facilities.

“We haven’t been able to attract new customers there,” Atkinson said.

The company is to have discussions with the local United Food and Commercial Workers union chapter to discuss changes that management and the union may be able to agree upon.

“There is no timetable (for a closure decision), other than that we have to see significant and immediate changes,” Atkinson said.

Workers at 21 Pilgrim’s Pride plants have filed a federal lawsuit in Arkansas seeking payment for the time they spent putting on and taking off protective gear. Workers at El Dorado and three other Pilgrim’s Pride plants in Arkansas are included in the court action.

Pilgrim’s Pride is the world’s leading chicken producer, with more than 56,000 employees, 38 plants and various other operations throughout the southeast and Mexico.