Tyson Foods to lay off 150 workers at Van Buren processing plant

Tyson Foods confirmed Wednesday (March 7) about 150 employees in the Van Buren chicken processing plant will be out of a job because of a temporary layoff at the end of March.

The company said about 1,100 workers are employed at the plant, and most of the jobs on the temporary layoff list are production line workers. The facility processes chicken for the company’s food service customers, and changing production needs are the reason behind the layoff.

“Those impacted may be eligible to work at other locations in the River Valley and Northwest Arkansas, and we’ll be assisting them with the application process,” said Worth Sparkman, corporate spokesman at Tyson Foods.

He said in past situations workers have found plant employment as far away as Dardanelle or Clarksville. Given this is a temporary layoff, there is no severance pay.

This news comes shortly after Tyson announced one-time bonus pay for its plant employees last month. Full-time workers received $1,000 and part-time workers $500. Tyson Foods CEO Tom Hayes said the bonuses were a result of a $300 million tax savings from the recent tax overhaul signed into law. Tyson said the remaining funds would be used from improved training and education.

The move also comes as the Fort Smith manufacturing sector struggles to grow. Employment in the sector was an estimated 17,800 in December, unchanged compared with December 2017 and down from 18,000 in December 2016.