Tyson Temporarily Idles Iowa Plant Following Mechanical Issue

Tyson Fresh Meats has temporarily idled production at its Columbus Junction, Iowa, pork plant after a mechanical malfunction in the refrigeration system caused an evacuation of the plant. No one was injured by the malfunction. Company officials believe operations could be down for several days as it evaluates and repairs the issue, according to a press release. It says it is too early to provide a definitive timeline for resuming production, but all full-time, active employees will be paid.

“We’re grateful to the plant management for quickly and efficiently evacuating team members from the building and keeping them safe first and foremost,” says Steve Stouffer, Group President, Tyson Fresh Meats, in the release. “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 Columbus Junction plant employs approximately 1,100 team members. Stouffer said all full-time active employees are guaranteed 40 hours/week pay.
 
“We’re taking steps to temporarily move production to other plants,” Stouffer says in the release. “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.”