By Matt Olberding, Nebraska Public Media
The planned closure of the Tyson Foods plant in Lexington is already having a ripple effect on other businesses.
According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter sent Wednesday to state labor officials, a company called Fortrex will be laying off its entire Lexington staff of 139 people.
In the letter, Fortrex describes itself as a privately held sanitation contractor that has done sanitation work at Tyson’s Lexington plant since 2013.
“Recently, we received unforeseen notice from Tyson Foods, Inc. – Lexington that it has decided to end the contract at the Lexington, NE location meaning that Fortrex will cease services at this plant effective Jan. 20, 2026,” the letter said. “This will result in the layoff or relocation of all eligible Fortrex team members at this plant.”
Fortrex is the new name of what used to be called Packers Sanitation Services Inc., or PSSI. PSSI was fined $1.5 million in 2023 by the Department of Labor for allowing children under the age of 18 to operate hazardous equipment at plants in eight states, including the JBS plant in Grand Island.
Fortrex officials could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
Tyson announced last week that it will close the Lexington plant, which employs more than 3,200 people, on Jan. 20.
Though the company did not provide a reason, experts have speculated that the closure is a result of a declining cattle herd and overcapacity in the beef processing industry.
The Associated Press reported that Tyson expects to lose more than $600 million on beef production this year after already reporting $720 million in beef-related losses over the past two years.
The closing of Fortrex will deal another blow to Lexington, a city of about 10,000 people 35 miles west of Kearney.
Clay Patton, vice president of the Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce, told Nebraska Public Media on Monday that the Tyson closure was “a devastating shock to the area.”
“This impacts everything from car dealerships, body shops, auto mechanics, restaurants, food trucks, hospitality, motels, hotels, grocery stores,” Patton said.
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