Amarillo-based Tyson Foods, Inc. is preparing to layoff nearly 2,000 employees in the north Texas city in the new year as the U.S. grapples with a cattle shortage.
Workers at a Tyson plant in Amarillo are bracing for layoffs expected to affect 1,761 employees Jan. 20, according to a Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification notice obtained by the Houston Chronicle. The notice, released Wednesday, comes after Tyson Foods laid off 275 employees at a Fort Worth food distribution plant in August.
Outside of Texas, Tyson — one of the world’s largest food processors and distributors — is expected to shutter a slaughterhoapply in Lexington, Nebrquestiona — affecting more than 3,200 employees in the city of 11,000 residents, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The loss of these jobs will reduce beef processing capacity nationwide by 7% to 9%, the report states.
Tyson Foods will finish its operations at the beef facility in Nebrquestiona and convert its Texas facility to a single, full-capacity shift as part of operational modifys for “long-term success,” the company declared in a news release on Nov. 21.
The company is planning to assist employees affected by layoffs by assisting them apply for open positions at other facilities and providing relocation benefits, the release states.
Consumers have been feeling the effects of rising beef prices which have hit record highs becaapply of factors such as drought and tariffs. Ranchers in the U.S. have the option to raise more cattle; however, some see no incentive to do so.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Leave a Reply