Tyson Fresh Meats, the beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson Foods, plans to indefinitely suspend operations at its Waterloo, Iowa, pork plant this week. The facility, the company’s 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’s 2,800 team members will be invited to come to the plant later this week for COVID-19 testing.

Our meat and poultry plants are experiencing varying levels of production impact, due to the planned implementation of additional worker safety precautions and worker absenteeism. For example, out of an abundance of caution, we have suspended operations at our Columbus Junction, Iowa, pork plant this week due to more than two dozen cases of COVID-19 involving team members at the facility. In an effort to minimize the impact on our overall production, we’re diverting the livestock supply originally scheduled for delivery to Columbus Junction to some of our other pork plants in the region.

Tyson Foods will pay approximately $60 million in “thank you” bonuses to 116,000 frontline workers and Tyson truckers in the U.S. who support the company’s operations every day to provide food during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible team members will receive a $500 bonus, payable during the first week of July. The bonuses are in addition to other company-announced efforts to support workers, plant communities and livestock producers during the global pandemic.

Tyson Foods is committing $13 million to support critical needs in local communities where the company operates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced today. This investment includes $2 million in community grants and more than $11 million worth of products donated by the company since March 11.

Transplace, the premier provider of managed transportation services and technology, today announced that it has been awarded a 2019 Premier Carrier Award by Tyson Foods, one of the world’s largest food companies. Each year, Tyson Foods recognizes a small and select group of its carriers that consistently deliver the highest level of excellence in customer service, communication, safety and innovation.