Meat+Poultry - April 2023 - 10

BUSINESS NOTES
Tyson Foods to
close two plants
Tyson Foods Inc. announced a plan to
close two facilities, which would result in
the loss of about 1,500 jobs.
The poultry company stated it would
close its Van Buren, Ark., facility, which
would affect 969 workers. Tyson plans
to also close its Glen Allen, Va., facility,
affecting 692 jobs. The company said it
will close processing, broiler and hatching
operations by May 12 at both locations and
shift demand to other Tyson Foods plants.
" While the decision was not easy, it
reflects our broader strategy to strengthen
our poultry business by optimizing
operations and utilizing the full available
capacity at each plant, " said Derek
Burleson, spokesperson for Tyson. " We
are working directly with impacted team
members to help ensure they have the
option to apply for open positions and
relocation assistance where applicable to
other Tyson Foods facilities. "
The company shared that it was
working closely with state and local
agencies and officials to provide resources
and assistance to those who choose to
remain in Glen Allen and Van Buren.
Mark Federici, president of the United
Food & Commercial Workers Local 400
Union (UFCW), which represents the
Glen Allen workers, said the organization
received the news about the closures from
Tyson on March 13.
" It has been our honor and privilege
to represent the workers at this plant for
decades, and we were appalled by today's
news and the terrible impact it will have
on close to 700 of our union members, "
Federici said on the UFCW website.
UFCW noted that Rick Nimrick, vice
president of labor relations at Tyson,
informed the union that the closures
would comply with the requirements of
the Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification (WARN) Act. It stipulates a
60-day notification of a plant closure or
mass layoff at a facility. The Glen Allen
facility had been operational since 1952.
Tyson acquired the plant from Holly Farms
Poultry during the late 1980s.
Former poultry sales managers plead guilty to fraud
The US Attorney's Office from the Western
District of Louisiana announced on March
9 that two Louisiana men pled guilty to
defrauding more than $2.1 million from
poultry producer Raeford Farms of
Louisiana LLC. The company employed
William Ross Hickman and Brian K.
Whiteman as sales manager and assistant
sales manager.
While working at Raeford Farms,
Hickman developed a scheme to
fraudulently divert business from
10 MEAT+POULTRY | 04.23 | www.meatpoultry.com
Retailer plans
to build beef
plant in Kansas
An unnamed company
plans to build a
320,000-squarefoot,
state-of-the-art
beef processing and
packaging facility for
retail ready products
in Olathe, Kan. The
company conducts
business in several
merchandising units,
including grocery.
The company's
Raeford Farms by using Group 7792 as an
intermediary to purchase chicken frames
from Raeford.
Hickman then used his position as sales
manager to provide favorable sales terms
to other entities, including Heritage Food
sales, another company Hickman controlled.
With sentencing scheduled for July
12, Hickman and Whiteman could each
face up to five years in prison, three years
of supervised release and a fine of up to
$250,000 for the crimes.
subsidiary, 1918 LLC,
requested insurance of
$257 million of industrial
revenue bonds for the
facility's construction.
The project spans a
138-acre site near the
corner of 167th Street
and 169 Highway. Over
the next decade, the
project would create
nearly 700 full-time jobs
with a total estimated
payroll of $23.5 million.
In the first year, the
facility is expected to
generate $282 million in
sales and to grow to $502
million in 10 years.
The application also
stated that processing
operations at the plant
would not include
slaughter. Cattle would
be raised and primary
processing done outside
of Kansas.
Tyson Foods Inc.; dave312 - stock.adobe.com
http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat+Poultry - April 2023

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