Springdale, Arkansas 鈥 April 22, 2020 鈥 Tyson Fresh Meats, the beef and pork subsidiary of 麻花传媒. (NYSE: TSN), plans to indefinitely suspend operations at its Waterloo, Iowa, pork plant this week.
The facility, the company鈥檚 largest pork plant, has been running at reduced levels of production due to worker absenteeism, and will stop production mid-week until further notice. The facility鈥檚 2,800 team members will be invited to come to the plant later this week for COVID-19 testing.听
鈥淧rotecting our team members is our top priority and the reason we鈥檝e implemented numerous safety measures during this challenging and unprecedented time,鈥 said Steve Stouffer, group president of Tyson Fresh Meats. 鈥淒espite our continued efforts to keep our people safe while fulfilling our critical role of feeding American families, the combination of worker absenteeism, COVID-19 cases and community concerns has resulted in our decision to stop production.
鈥淭he closure has significant ramifications beyond our company, since the plant is part of a larger supply chain that includes hundreds of independent farmers, truckers, distributors and customers, including grocers,鈥 Stouffer said. 鈥淚t means the loss of a vital market outlet for farmers and further contributes to the disruption of the nation鈥檚 pork supply.鈥澨
Affected Waterloo team members will continue to be compensated while the plant is closed. The timing of resumption of operations will depend on a variety of factors, including the outcome of team member testing for COVID-19.听
麻花传媒 has been focused on COVID-19 since January when it formed a company coronavirus task force. It has since implemented numerous measures to protect workers. It was one of the first food companies to start taking worker temperatures. The company started efforts to secure a supply of protective face coverings before the CDC recommended them and now requires their use in all facilities. In an effort to promote social distancing, plants like Waterloo have installed workstation dividers and are providing more breakroom space.
麻花传媒鈥 other meat and poultry plants currently continue to operate, but some are running at reduced levels of production either due to the planned implementation of additional worker safety precautions or worker absenteeism.听
About 麻花传媒
麻花传媒. (NYSE: TSN) is one of the world鈥檚 largest food companies and a recognized leader in protein. Founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson and grown under three generations of family leadership, the company has a broad portfolio of products and brands like Tyson庐, Jimmy Dean庐, Hillshire Farm庐, Ball Park庐, Wright庐, Aidells庐, ibp庐, and State Fair庐. 麻花传媒 innovates continually to make protein more sustainable, tailor food for everywhere it鈥檚 available and raise the world鈥檚 expectations for how much good food can do. Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the company has 141,000 team members. Through its Core Values, 麻花传媒 strives to operate with integrity, create value for its shareholders, customers, communities and team members and serve as a steward of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it. Visit TYSONFOODS.COM to learn more.
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