There is too much beef production capacity in the region and cattle supplies remain low, the company said.
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“The 400 workers affected by the end of beef production here at Denison are being given the opportunity to apply for jobs at other Tyson locations”, Mickelson said.
The move by Tyson, the biggest U.S. meat processor, will affect 400 employees at the plant, which will continue by-product rendering operations with about 20 workers.
In a statement, Tyson Foods called the decision hard, “because it affects the lives of our people, their families, and a community that has supported the plant for more than 50 years”.
He added that the company has to adapt to the “realities of the beef business” for them to continue to be successful. While the displaced workers will no longer be on the job, they receive another 60 days of pay, as required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN Act.
The plant was opened in 1961 by Iowa Beef Packers and was acquired by Tyson Foods in 2001.
Steve Stouffer, president of Tyson Fresh Meats, said in the press release that the reduction of beef production is needed. He said one plant is looking to hire 80 workers.
This past March, Tyson announced the closure of its poultry-processing plant in Buena Vista, Ga., and eliminated the third shift at its Dawson, Ga., processing plant, which eliminated approximately 260 jobs.
At the start of 2014, U.S. cattle supplies were the smallest in more than six decades after years of drought in the southern U.S. forced producers to trim herds. In its last fiscal year, Tyson’s beef business processed fewer cattle than it had the year before, and it was the only Tyson Foods division that didn’t report an increase in sales volume. She said the plant’s closure has put her business, which specializes in dresses, in jeopardy. “Nobody knows what to expect”.
Bonner said the main focus now is to ensure the impact is curbed and corrected as fast and efficiently as possible.
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“The feedlot segment of the industry is having a very hard time making a profit”, Troxel said.
