Citing southern market growth for case-ready beef
and pork, Tyson Foods, Inc., Springdale, Ark.,
said it plans to shift some production from its Council Bluffs, Iowa,
case-ready plant to facilities in Goodlettsville, Tenn., and
Sherman, Texas.
Officials said the adjustments also help Tyson "make more effective use of its existing case-ready production capacity."
“Our
overall case-ready business is operating successfully and we must
continue to control costs and improve efficiencies,” said Gary
Sheneman, senior vice president of case-ready beef and pork for Tyson. “We
believe shifting some production from Council Bluffs to our other
plants is the right thing to do for our overall business, which
continues to grow and diversify its customer base. The unfortunate downside is the impact on some of our employees.”
A
portion of second shift case-ready production at the Council Bluffs
plant will be suspended in mid-March and subsequently handled by the
company’s two other case-ready facilities, which have available
capacity. The suspension will displace approximately 480 of the 1,300 people employed at the Council Bluffs plant.
Tyson said it will encourage workers to apply for openings within the company. In
addition, Tyson said it also will work with state officials to ensure the
employees are informed about unemployment benefits and any potential
re-training opportunities.
“We
believe the Council Bluffs plant will remain an important part of our
case-ready beef and pork business and continue to benefit the local
economy,” Sheneman said. “In fact, if enough
additional case-ready business develops in the Midwest, we’ll consider
reinstating the production we’re suspending at Council Bluffs.”
Tyson’s
case-ready facilities use beef and pork from Tyson Fresh Meats’
operations to produce packages of steaks, roasts, chops, ground beef
and other items that are ready for retail grocers to place directly
into the meat case.
Tyson Fresh Meats, formerly IBP, began a small scale case-ready operation at Council Bluffs in early 1999. Production at Council Bluffs subsequently grew, and in 2001 the company opened a case-ready plant in Goodlettsville. The Sherman plant began operations in 2006.
