Food giant Tyson Foods Inc. has come under fire for allegedly firing American workers, only to hire illegal immigrants to fill their positions. It comes as the company announced the closure of one of its packing facilities in Perry, Iowa, which is resulting in nearly 1,300 lay-offs.
“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close our Perry, Iowa pork facility. We understand the impact of this decision on our team members and the local community,” a spokesperson said in a statement, adding that:
“Taking care of our team members is our top priority and we encourage them to apply for other open roles within the company. We are also working closely with state and local officials to provide additional resources to those who are impacted.”
The announcement by the company, which is a major player in the global meat industry, has further exacerbated the ongoing controversy. Last year, Tyson Foods closed two of its chicken plants, causing a series of layoffs.
The decision to close the facility in the town of just under 8,000 people will likely not only impact workers but also the local economy. The small community is located in Dallas County, about 40 miles northwest of Des Moines.
The company has hinted at more upcoming closures by mid-fiscal 2024, which will likely create costs in the region of $300–400 million.
However, Tyson Foods plans to employ thousands of refugees in collaboration with Tent Partnership for Refugees, according to an announcement made shortly after announcing the layoffs, Bloomberg reported.
The Tent Partnership for Refugees was founded by Kurdish business magnate Hamdi Ulukaya, who owns Chobani yogurt, one of the biggest suppliers of Greek yogurt in the United States.
Currently, Tyson Foods employs around 42,000 immigrants, which is roughly a third of its 120,000-strong workforce.
“We would like to employ another 42,000 if we could find them,” Garrett Dolan, an advocate for efforts to eliminate employment barriers such as immigration status or the need for childcare, told Bloomberg.
Tyson Foods reportedly targeted immigrants at a job fair it held in Iowa, which allegedly resulted in the creation of a database for tens of thousands of immigrants.
The immigrants were offered wages of $16.50 per hour, in addition to free legal services, as the company is seeking to exploit the opportunity to hire staff from other countries to fill unpleasant jobs, amid a national unemployment rate of 3.9 percent.
In the last two years, over 180,000 illegal immigrants have inundated New York City’s social welfare system, which has led to pushback from several politicians in Washington and New York City.
In February, Tyson Foods hired 17 migrants from Venezuela, Mexico, and Colombia to work at its plant in Humboldt, Tennessee, after company officials met with the immigrants at Chobani’s Manhattan offices. Seventy more migrants were hired just a few weeks after, Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile, Tyson Foods is also making significant investments in its migrant workforce. Around $1.5 million were set aside in 2023 and 2024 to facilitate legal aid for migrants. This includes paid holidays for workers to attend court hearings and applications for citizenship. The company paid for more than 1,300 of its migrant workforce to become U.S. citizens last year.
Many online influencers, including conservative talk show host Charlie Kirk, have expressed dismay at Tyson Foods’ decision, calling for a boycott of the company.
“The Great Replacement in action. Tyson Foods is firing American workers and replacing them with illegals. Adding insult to injury, Tyson Foods will also provide lawyers to help with ‘immigration’ hearings. Disgraceful. Boycott Tyson Foods!!” Mr Kirk wrote on X.
In May last year, more than 1,600 people were laid off after the company closed two packing plants in Virginia and Arkansas, in addition to announcing further layoffs in senior leadership roles and corporate jobs the month prior.
NTD has contacted Tyson Foods for a statement on the legal status of the illegal immigrants but has not received a reply prior to publication of this article.
The company issued a statement disputing the report, the New York Post reported.
“In recent days, there has been a lot of misinformation in the media about our company, and we feel compelled to set the record straight,” Tyson said in the statement.
“Tyson Foods is strongly opposed to illegal immigration, and we led the way in participating in the two major government programs to help employers combat unlawful employment, E-Verify and the Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers (IMAGE) program.”
“Tyson Foods employs 120,000 team members in the U.S., all of whom are required to be legally authorized to work in this country,” the statement adds.
“We have a history of strong hiring practices, and anybody who is legally able is welcome to apply to open job listings.”
