Pilgrim's to Pour $75 Million Into Its Ellijay Plant, One of Gilmer County's Biggest Employers

One of Gilmer County's largest employers is preparing to grow. Pilgrim's, the poultry company behind the sprawling chicken plant in Ellijay, has announced an approximately $75 million investment to expand and modernize the local facility — a move the company says will increase capacity and reshape what comes off the production line here.

For a town where the plant is woven into daily life and many households' paychecks, the announcement is significant local news, even with key questions — like how many new jobs and when construction starts — still unanswered.

What the investment is meant to do

According to Pilgrim's, the money will increase harvesting and portioning capacity in Ellijay and let the plant turn out a broader mix of higher-value, boneless products — the kind of cuts used in chicken sandwiches, tenders, and other fast-growing menu categories. The company framed the project as a way to keep the facility competitive and aligned with how customers and consumers are buying chicken.

In the company's announcement, CEO Fabio Sandri described Ellijay as a strong-performing facility with a talented team and said the expansion is meant to optimize the company's product mix and improve efficiency, according to the official news release.

The Chattanooga connection

The Ellijay expansion is tied to a larger realignment. Pilgrim's said it will close the aging harvesting portion of its operations in Chattanooga, Tennessee, while continuing to use that location's deboning infrastructure to support Ellijay's expanded work. In short, some of the harvesting handled in Chattanooga is being consolidated here.

That shift carries a human cost across the state line. Pilgrim's said the Chattanooga harvesting closure affects 348 team members, and the company pledged transition support including eligibility for transfers to other Pilgrim's locations, the chance to apply for open roles elsewhere in its U.S. network, and on-site resources, according to the company and reporting from the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Why this matters in Ellijay

The Pilgrim's plant is far more than a building off Industrial Boulevard. According to the company, the Ellijay production facility employs more than 1,100 people with an annual payroll topping $33 million — making it a cornerstone of the Gilmer County economy.

Against that backdrop, a multimillion-dollar modernization is the kind of news that ripples outward — into local supplier relationships, the housing and rental market, schools, and the small businesses that depend on plant workers stopping in. An expanded, higher-value operation generally signals a company is committing to a location for the long term rather than scaling back.

What to watch next

The most useful information for local families is still to come: how many jobs the bigger operation will add here, what kinds of roles those will be, and when work on the plant begins. Those details often emerge through state and county economic-development channels and from the company directly.

We'll update this story as Pilgrim's, state officials, or Gilmer County leaders share more about the project's timeline and local hiring.

For more on the businesses and jobs shaping our area, visit Ellijay Georgia Community Website and read more business and development stories or our latest local business coverage. Have a perspective on what this means for Gilmer County workers? Join the conversation in our Community Forum, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X so you never miss an update on this developing story.