Tyson Foods announced in November that it would close a beef processing plant in Lexington that employs more than 3,200 people. (Ana Wombacher/Nebraska Public Media News)
Lexington Nebraska Tyson plant closure will retain nearly 300 workers temporarily as operations wind down, according to state labor filings.
By Jackie Ourada, Nebraska Public Media
Nearly 300 workers will stay on at the Tyson Foods plant in Lexington, which was set to cease operations this past Tuesday.
In a notice to the Nebraska Department of Labor, Tyson officials said the company would retain 292 team members to “perform duties related to the plant closure.” Less than half of those employees, however, will remain past the end of the month.
The notice comes as the city of Lexington considers its future without the plant, which operated with around 3,200 employees. It was one of Tyson’s largest meat processing facilities, slaughtering about 5,000 cattle a day.
The meat processing company announced just before Thanksgiving that it would shut down the plant. As operations wind down, the company said it will keep team members for the following time periods:
- 59 employees for about 3 additional days;
- 93 employees for about 10 additional days;
- 3 employees for about 30 additional days;
- 11 employees for about 39 additional days;
- 1 employee for about 132 additional days;
- and 127 employees for about 185 additional days.
The remaining positions range from production managers and supervisors, to lab workers, refrigeration maintenance workers and office operations jobs. Tyson Foods officials haven’t discussed the reasons as to why the Lexington plant was chosen to close, while another one of its plants in Texas dwindled to just one day shift.
The company said it needed to “right size” its beef operation and solidify its long-term performance. Elected leaders have pointed to a dwindling U.S. cattle herd as to why many processing plants aren’t running at full capacity. Tyson posted stellar revenue improvements ahead of its Lexington plant closure, but officials said much of that success stemmed from its chicken operations and that more challenges could be ahead for its beef processing operations.
It remains to be seen what will come of the 3,200-worker plant that has been the largest employer in the Lexington community for decades and has helped the community’s diverse population boom. Neighbors and community leaders fear the town could see more of its businesses shutter as people leave to find other jobs throughout the state or at other plants outside of Nebraska.
The closure is expected to have a massive financial impact on Lexington and Dawson County, and across the state. An economic impact analysis from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln estimated that the closure will cost the state nearly $3.3 billion in annual economic losses due to reduced tax revenues, lost income and decreased spending within communities.
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