Tyson Suspending Some Beef Operations

NEW YORK - Jan 6/05 - SNS -- Poor operating margins have prompted Tyson Foods to temporarily suspend operations at four beef plants and the second shift at another.

Approximately 2,100 workers are affected by the temporary suspension of operations. This includes 275 employees at Denison, 900 at Norfolk, 275 at West Point, 250 at Boise and 400 at Pasco.

Tyson is encouraging affected employees to take paid vacation for the first week operations are suspended. The company will then pay the equivalent of a 32 hour work week in each of the next three weeks workers are off the job. Tyson will also continue to offer benefits, including health insurance, to qualified employees.

The affected plants are located in the Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest, and "have been hurt by a combination of tight cattle supplies, lackluster domestic beef demand and the continued absence of key export markets," the company said in a press statement announcing the closures.

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