Tyson to cut meat output due to supply, rally
Reuters
Friday 7 April 2006
By Bob Burgdorfer
CHICAGO, April 7 (Reuters) - Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the largest U.S. meat producer, said it will reduce production for one day on Monday in response to poor market conditions and to concerns a nationwide immigration rally set for that day could affect attendance by its Hispanic workers.
The meat industry relies heavily on immigrant workers to staff production facilities, and a large percentage of those workers are Hispanic. The rally advocating national immigration reform could affect their attendance that day.
"Some of our plants are not scheduled to operate Monday, due to multiple reasons including market conditions and the planned immigration rallies," Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said in an e-mail.
The market conditions were not specified, but food industry analysts and meat companies have said there is an abundance of meat. Bird flu overseas is partly to blame because it has hurt exports of U.S. chicken and that meat is piling up here.
Tyson said about 30 percent of its work force is Hispanic.
Other U.S. meat companies either said they were aware of the rally or declined to comment about it.
"We at Tyson support comprehensive immigration reform and support our Team Members' right to express themselves on this important matter," said Mickelson.
"We're telling them if they plan to take part in a rally Monday, and their plant is scheduled to operate, we hope they will not take any unauthorized time off but will instead get pre-approval from their supervisor or participate during non-work hours," he said.
A compromise bipartisan plan to overhaul the nation's immigration law failed Friday in its first test vote in a sharply divided U.S. Senate.
Just a day after leaders from both parties agreed to the plan and predicted it would be widely embraced, new bickering shelved the measure amid complaints it would give amnesty to immigrants who illegally entered the country.
The American Meat Institute, a meat industry trade group, said immigration reform is needed.
"Immigration reform also needs to address the challenges of finding and maintaining an adequate supply of workers to fill meat packing and processing jobs," AMI said in a statement.
Organizers of Monday's rally have a Web site, "www.April10.org," which details the planned activities.
"There are going to be over 100 rallies on Monday," said Eliza Leighton, a spokeswoman for the event.
For the meat industry, reducing production would be logical, analysts said. The large meat supplies have pressured prices for beef, pork, and chicken.
"There is too much supply and not enough exports," said Ron Plain, an agricultural economist at the University of Missouri. "The biggest problem on exports is chicken. It appears chicken exports are down because the rest of the world has bird flu."
Late on Thursday, brokerage firm Merrill Lynch lowered its earnings forecasts for Tyson, pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD.N: Quote, Profile, Research), and chicken producers Gold Kist Inc. (GKIS.OQ: Quote, Profile, Research) and Pilgrim's Pride Corp. (PPC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), largely due to an abundance of meat.
Tyson's shares were up 3 cents, or 0.23 percent, at $13.29 on Friday afternoon at the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: Reuters
today.reuters.com
Reuters
Friday 7 April 2006
By Bob Burgdorfer
CHICAGO, April 7 (Reuters) - Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the largest U.S. meat producer, said it will reduce production for one day on Monday in response to poor market conditions and to concerns a nationwide immigration rally set for that day could affect attendance by its Hispanic workers.
The meat industry relies heavily on immigrant workers to staff production facilities, and a large percentage of those workers are Hispanic. The rally advocating national immigration reform could affect their attendance that day.
"Some of our plants are not scheduled to operate Monday, due to multiple reasons including market conditions and the planned immigration rallies," Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said in an e-mail.
The market conditions were not specified, but food industry analysts and meat companies have said there is an abundance of meat. Bird flu overseas is partly to blame because it has hurt exports of U.S. chicken and that meat is piling up here.
Tyson said about 30 percent of its work force is Hispanic.
Other U.S. meat companies either said they were aware of the rally or declined to comment about it.
"We at Tyson support comprehensive immigration reform and support our Team Members' right to express themselves on this important matter," said Mickelson.
"We're telling them if they plan to take part in a rally Monday, and their plant is scheduled to operate, we hope they will not take any unauthorized time off but will instead get pre-approval from their supervisor or participate during non-work hours," he said.
A compromise bipartisan plan to overhaul the nation's immigration law failed Friday in its first test vote in a sharply divided U.S. Senate.
Just a day after leaders from both parties agreed to the plan and predicted it would be widely embraced, new bickering shelved the measure amid complaints it would give amnesty to immigrants who illegally entered the country.
The American Meat Institute, a meat industry trade group, said immigration reform is needed.
"Immigration reform also needs to address the challenges of finding and maintaining an adequate supply of workers to fill meat packing and processing jobs," AMI said in a statement.
Organizers of Monday's rally have a Web site, "www.April10.org," which details the planned activities.
"There are going to be over 100 rallies on Monday," said Eliza Leighton, a spokeswoman for the event.
For the meat industry, reducing production would be logical, analysts said. The large meat supplies have pressured prices for beef, pork, and chicken.
"There is too much supply and not enough exports," said Ron Plain, an agricultural economist at the University of Missouri. "The biggest problem on exports is chicken. It appears chicken exports are down because the rest of the world has bird flu."
Late on Thursday, brokerage firm Merrill Lynch lowered its earnings forecasts for Tyson, pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD.N: Quote, Profile, Research), and chicken producers Gold Kist Inc. (GKIS.OQ: Quote, Profile, Research) and Pilgrim's Pride Corp. (PPC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), largely due to an abundance of meat.
Tyson's shares were up 3 cents, or 0.23 percent, at $13.29 on Friday afternoon at the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: Reuters
today.reuters.com
