Current Events > Tyson food lays off 1200 workers then seeks to hire loyal asylum seekers instead

(+) Yeah! (+)

loyal is the word their HR director uses

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/tyson-foods-close-iowa-pork-plant-with-1200-workers-2024-03-11/

Tyson Foods (TSN.N)
will permanently close a pork plant in Perry, Iowa, the meatpacker said on Monday, eliminating jobs for about 1,200 workers.

https://www.pressherald.com/2024/03/11/tyson-is-hiring-immigrants-in-new-york-for-jobs-no-one-else-wants/

For politicians in Washington and New York City, an unprecedented stream of asylum seekers presents an intractable problem with no easy answers. For companies like Tyson Foods Inc., struggling to fill unpleasant jobs with a U.S. unemployment rate of 3.9%, this new population presents an alluring opportunity.

Tyson is joining the nonprofit Tent Partnership for Refugees, which was founded by Chobani yogurt magnate Hamdi Ulukaya, with a plan to hire some of the 181,400 migrants that have come through New York Citys intake system over the last two years. The meatpacker already employs about 42,000 immigrants among its 120,000-strong U.S. workforce.

We would like to employ another 42,000 if we could find them, said Garrett Dolan, who leads Tysons efforts to eliminate employment barriers such as immigration status or the need for child care.

On a cold day last month, Tyson officials met with immigrants at Chobanis offices in Manhattan and hired 17 asylum seekers from Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia for jobs at its plant in Humboldt, Tennessee. Last week, it hired 70 more.

Its a tiny drop in the bucket when compared with the surge in new arrivals, but could point the way toward a partial solution to address companies labor shortages as well as the challenge of finding work for eligible immigrants. Tent is also working with four other companies seeking to hire migrants, including the airline food packager Gategroup Holding AG, which is backed by Singapore wealth fund Temasek. Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, has partnered with Tent to support refugee populations.

Asylum hopefuls are typically eligible to receive work permits 180 days after they apply for the legal status, though some can receive them sooner. Many will wait years before their first immigration hearing due to court backlogs, but theyll be allowed to work in the meantime.

Tyson is constantly in search of workers to fill jobs in its factories tasks like washing meat, placing the cuts into trays and doing a final inspection for bones. Dolan says the company expects about 40% of the 100,000 people in these roles will leave each year, a statistic he says is standard across the meatpacking industry. To meet this need, he said, Tyson plans to hire about 52,000 people at that wage class which starts at $16.50 an hour, plus benefits in 2024 alone.

Were recognizing theres not a lot of people that are going to be working labor-manufacturing jobs that are American, Dolan said. A large portion of new hires are going to come from refugees and immigrants, so were now in the business of strategically thinking that through.

The food industry has long been a destination for immigrants, and it carries a checkered past of employment and workplace safety violations. Last year, Tyson and Perdue Farms Inc. were among food producers that came under investigation from the U.S. Department of Labor after a New York Times report found contractors illegally employed migrant children at companies plants. The company says it has zero tolerance for child labor and doesnt allow the employment of anyone under the age of 18 in any of its facilities.

Tyson is also investing in retaining immigrant workers, having earmarked $1.5 million a year for legal aid services in 2023 and 2024 and providing paid time off for workers to attend court hearings. Last year, Tyson paid for 1,317 workers to become U.S. citizens.

The migrant hires and other new entry-level workers receive on-site childcare and transportation, as well as English classes for those who want them. The company is providing its new employees from New York with temporary housing, a relocation stipend and paid time off to better acclimate to their new lives in Humboldt.

Theyre very, very loyal, Dolan said. Theyve been uprooted and what they want is stability what they want is a sense of belonging.

Nice to see people step up and help refugees.

Federal law will put fear of God into Tyson. Citizens must come first.

They say loyal, I say they have no choice.

I'm sure maga outrage will incite a boycott any minute now.

"Loyal" meaning Tyson will blackmail them with deportation if they step out of line

https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2024/03/16/iowa-senator-and-representative-speak-out-on-tyson-plant-shutdown-in-perry/

We have provided Tyson a lot of support. Our state, our county has invested tax dollars in this company and the people of Perry have worked very hard for this company, and so Tyson should be paying community severance.

I agree with the community severance.

$16.50/hour lmao.

That's why these people all end up living like 10 to a house/apartment and work two jobs. It's insane.

Tyranthraxus posted...

"Loyal" meaning Tyson will blackmail them with deportation if they step out of line

Precisely. Same with h1b visa which gets abused in the IT world this way. When someone with an h1b sponsorship loses their job, they only have a few months to find another one before they have to go back to their home country. Since their comp ends up being lower than what the market would otherwise support and since they become desperate to cling to what they have, it becomes a race to the bottom for them and for everyone who is a citizen.

Federal law will have to step in to guarantee these things in the favor of domestic labor pools. And they will.

CobraGT posted...

I agree with the community severance.

Community severance as a punishment to Tyson and then reinstating all the workers with pay increases for anyone who isn't in management.

They 100% will pay them far less and threaten deportation when they complain about not getting their 40 hours of mandatory overtime pay or the 48474747747483 safety violations Tyson does nothing about

Another example of a company being stupid.

Who they will pay garbage wages to and then try and get them deported the instant they ask for anything more.

The embrace of illegal immigration was always so that corporations could exploit them for cheap labor w/ no power and drive down wages for all workers.
Progressives like to ignore that inconvenient truth.
And yes, Republicans are hypocrites that outright lie, taking advantage of the cheap labor while crying about it. The way to drive down illegal immigration is to jail their employers, which Republicans will never agree to do, because they are the employers.

Surely they can't pay American workers because they are losing profits and likely would need to sell off assets and facilities to stay afloat, right?

I bet they donate maximally to both parties.

obliteratus posted...

Federal law will put fear of God into Tyson. Citizens must come first.

Not likely since Tyson surely has lobbyists in the government.

streamofthesky posted...

The embrace of illegal immigration was always so that corporations could exploit them for cheap labor w/ no power and drive down wages for all workers.
Progressives like to ignore that inconvenient truth.
And yes, Republicans are hypocrites that outright lie, taking advantage of the cheap labor while crying about it. The way to drive down illegal immigration is to jail their employers, which Republicans will never agree to do, because they are the employers.

No, progressives want them to become citizens more easily - especially if they show they want to come here to work and raise a family.

We want them to be non-exploited American workers, and join a union with us in solidarity - ideally. Realistically we want humane and reasonable immigration reform.

Republicans frame it in this insane, nonsensical, open borders, great replacement conspiracy stuff, and that's the framing the media always runs with - because the media corporations have the same billionaires on their boards that want cheap, powerless labor too.

streamofthesky posted...

The embrace of illegal immigration was always so that corporations could exploit them for cheap labor w/ no power and drive down wages for all workers.
Progressives like to ignore that inconvenient truth.
And yes, Republicans are hypocrites that outright lie, taking advantage of the cheap labor while crying about it. The way to drive down illegal immigration is to jail their employers, which Republicans will never agree to do, because they are the employers.

Or the politicians who get easy votes because of promising free things. It's easy to blame a political side but it's not so simple.

Immigration policies need to be followed and we need our border to be secure. Citizens must come first including in employment. Anything else, including fast-tracking easy access to American citizenship to appease progressives, is just what you described.

But Americans just don't want to work.

Torgo posted...

Surely they can't pay American workers because they are losing profits and likely would need to sell off assets and facilities to stay afloat, right?

I bet they donate maximally to both parties.

Most very definitely. If profit doesn't increase quarterly then the CEOs and shareholders will literally starve.

Dark_Arbron posted...

Most very definitely. If profit doesn't increase quarterly then the CEOs and shareholders will literally starve.

The financial incentive is the symptom. The cause is the political machines that want free or cheap labor and free or cheap votes, from people who will only do what they're told without thinking or talking.

smart move.

the migrants are finally working instead hanging around the streets all day. I THOUGHT THIS IS WHAT WE WANTED M I RITE

</sarcasm>

cjsdowg posted...

But Americans just don't want to work.

I mean, that's what I've been told by the media.

This will go and go over well

Americans don't want to work*

*in shitty and unhealthy conditions with shitty pay

They are already pieces of crap in my eyes. A farmer I bought hay from had thousands of chickens and at least 10 "coops". They asked local farmers to supply them with chickens. That friend then puts A lot of time, money and labor building those coops for what was required. 5 years go by. Tyson comes back to every local farmer and says your services are no longer needed. Goodbye. No compesation, not anything. He had to tear 80% of it down. Lost his ass and lost his livelyhood

holy shit what

this is fucked up