Meat processors wrestle with worker shortages as US economy reopens from COVID-19
For Tyson Foods, the onset of the summer grilling season and consumers' return to restaurants has the beef, pork and poultry processing giant preparing for strong demand for its protein-rich offerings.
But the upbeat outlook is being tempered by understaffed processing lines at some of its 140 plants amid struggles to attract and retain new workers — a snapshot of the ongoing labor shortages rippling throughout the food industry and other sectors of the U.S. economy.
"We definitely have some plants that are struggling a little more than others" when it comes to finding enough workers, said Hector Gonzalez, Tyson's senior vice president of human resources. "If people aren't there, our plants won't run, so it is more challenging these days to see the kind of applicant flow necessary to fill the gaps."
To minimize the disruption, Tyson has identified ways to stabilize the company's workforce and improve retention rates — some of which it is already testing out. At least four plants are piloting a work schedule with fewer days but longer daily hours so staff can spend more time at home, or providing employees with 40 hours of pay for 36 hours of work. Tyson also is looking to move more shifts into days or weekdays, rather than Saturday and Sunday evenings, to accommodate workers' preferences.
The beef, pork and chicken processor has opened six hiring centers in the past six months, and has seven health clinics on or near a plant where team members and their families can get primary care. The average pay, including benefits, has steadily increased during the past five years for Tyson's frontline workers to $22 an hour.
Gonzalez said these incentives, coupled with the use of chatbots and referral incentives for its existing employees, has increased the number of people applying to work at Tyson.
“Those are all things that are really helping to shape an experience we think is a differentiated experience from our competitors and really limit the need for us to have to burn too many calories trying to replace help that we’re not losing,” he said.
Spokespersons from JBS USA and Foster Farms declined to comment. Smithfield Foods and Sanderson Farms did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.
Joe Sanderson, the CEO of Sanderson Farms, told analysts last month that he was optimistic the labor situation would improve in the coming months, but for now said it remains difficult in some places to find enough workers. "We're tight on labor. No question about it," Sanderson said. "We have more absentees and we could hire a bunch of people right now."