Tyson Foods has announced that it is temporarily suspending production at its pork plant in Iowa, following a mechanical malfunction in the refrigeration system.
The operation malfunction reportedly occurred on Tuesday evening at the Columbus Junction, Iowa plant, which employs approximately 1,100 staff. Tyson says no one was hurt from the incident.
Company officials have reported that plant operations could be down for a few days, but that it is too early to provide a definite timeline for resuming production at the plant.
Steve Stouffer, group president at Tyson Fresh Meats, says the company is taking steps to temporarily move production to other plants.
“With Tyson Foods multiple pork facilities, we are able to use our other Tyson locations within our network to help keep livestock and product supplies moving in a timely manner with limited customer or farmer disruptions,” he said.
The temporary closure marks the second time this year when operations have been paused, after the plant was idle for two weeks in April to Covid-19 concerns.
Stouffer continued: “We’re grateful to the plant management for quickly and efficiently evacuating team members from the building and keeping them safe first and foremost.
“This has been a challenging year, and we want to ensure our team members are safe. Full-time, active team members will continue to be paid weekly until production resumes.”
The news comes as Tyson fires seven plant managers following an independent investigation into Covid-19 wagering allegations at its facility in Waterloo, Iowa.
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