The company will invest $626,000 in new equipment to relocate chicken deboning lines from Arkansas and Missouri to its 130,000-square-foot facility in Corydon, according to the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

“Tyson Foods not only provides work for thousands in our state, but this investment is a boost to Hoosier poultry farmers who supply the company with locally grown meat,” said Gov. Mitch Daniels.

The Corydon branch of Tyson Foods employs 650 people and plans to begin hiring additional production associates immediately. Tyson Foods employs nearly 3,000 people across its three Indiana facilities.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance plant efficiencies, we're making some operational changes that will involve more jobs,” said David Whittington, complex manager for Tyson Foods. “Instead of continuing to ship certain cuts of chicken to outside plants in other states for deboning, we’ve decided to do the work right here in Indiana. This means the installation of new equipment at the Corydon facility and the addition of 78 new jobs.

“We are now starting to ramp up the new production line and anticipate full production by early December. We believe Indiana is a great place to do business and we are excited to be expanding during such challenging economic times.”

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Tyson Foods up to $160,000 in training grants based on the company’s job-creation plans. The Harrison County Economic Development Corp. will provide Tyson Foods an additional $50,000 toward workforce training and other expenses to assist with the expansion.