By Rajwa Quasim
As the U.S. faces a severe cattle shortage, beef processing company Tyson Foods has announced the permanent closure of its plant in Joslin, Illinois, and the halt of most operations there. The company informed employees of the closure on Aug. 13. The move is expected to affect about 2,495 workers.
According to the executive director of the workforce development agency Rock Island Tri-County Consortium Teresa Cherry, the company submitted its WARN notice half an hour prior to the public notice to the employees. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) provides protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide notification 60 calendar days in advance of plant closings and mass layoffs.
The law further states that an employer that fails to provide notice as required is liable to each affected employee for back pay and benefits for the period of the violation, up to a maximum of 60 days. The employer may also be subject to a civil penalty of up to $500 for each day of the violation.
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Tyson’s WARN filing with the Illinois Department of Labor said harvesting operations would stop Aug. 13 and processing would end Aug. 14, but the workers would remain employees through Oct. 12, exactly 60 days after the company announced the closure. They would continue to receive their regular pay, although they would not be required to work at the processing plant.
The timing is at the center of a dispute, with law firm Strauss Borrelli investigating whether Tyson’s approach complies with the WARN Act. University of Illinois professor Michael LeRoy said Tyson’s approach could be legal if the company continues providing workers with full wages and benefits throughout the 60-day period. However, according to KWQC, workers will continue to receive pay through October but will lose health insurance, which could make the arrangement problematic.
Plans to close the plant emerged during the company’s second earnings call, when Tyson told shareholders it expected losses of approximately $650 million in its beef processing business for the fiscal year due to cattle shortages and high livestock costs.
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Contractor Fortrex is laying off 103 sanitation workers at the Joslin plant, while Cherry said more than 50 businesses had reached out in the previous three days to help absorb displaced workers through hiring programs and job fairs.
“NCBA is troubled by the closure of the Joslin beef processing facility. For many years, the plant has played a vital role in the Midwest beef supply chain, and its closure will significantly impact cattle producers, employees, and rural communities across the region. We encourage Tyson to work closely with its longstanding customers to identify alternative marketing opportunities for their cattle,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall.
Last year, the company closed its beef processing plant in Lexington, Nebraska, where it issued a WARN notice Nov. 21 and scheduled operations to cease around Jan. 20. Tyson is also closing other facilities, including a beef plant in Eagle Mountain, Utah, and is trying to sell its Pasco, Washington, beef plant.