Tyson Foods plans to lay off more than 1,700 shift workers at its beef processing plant in Amarillo, Texas, early next year as the U.S. meat industry faces tight cattle supplies and labor woes.
According to a report filed with the Texas Workforce Commission, 1,761 employees will lose their jobs Jan. 20. Spokespeople for Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but the company said last week it was converting operations at the plant to “a single, full-capacity shift.”
Tyson also announced last week it would close a major beef plant in Lexington, Nebraska, in an effort to “right-size” operations. The midwestern slaughterhouse employs around 3,200 people and the cuts there, combined with those in Amarillo, will reduce U.S. beef processing capacity by 7% to 9%, an Associated Press report said…