Tyson set to cut the workforce by half at Emporia plant
Citing overcapacity in beef slaughtering facilities, American beef processor, Tyson Foods Inc., has announced that it is to cease slaughter operations at its Emporia plant in Kansas over the next few weeks with the intention of focusing on specialty processing, although the facility will still be used as a cold storage and distribution warehouse. The move will result in the loss of approximately 1,500 of the current 2,400 posts held at the plant.
Commenting on the company’s plans president and chief executive Dick Bond said: “This is an extremely difficult decision, given the great team of people who work there and our investment in the plant. However, we must make changes to our commodity business model to effectively manage through challenging market conditions. He added: “There continues to be far more beef slaughter capacity than available cattle and we believe this problem will continue to afflict the industry for the foreseeable future. We estimate the current slaughter overcapacity in the industry to be between 10,000 and 14,000 head of cattle per day. This imbalance is especially a problem for Emporia. Cattle production has moved from eastern to western Kansas over the past twenty to thirty years, and the Emporia plant is no longer centrally located in relationship to where most of the cattle it slaughters are raised.”
The plant has been part of Tyson Foods since the company’s purchase of IBP, inc. in 2001.
