Tyson Foods pays $50 million to settle pork pricing lawsuit

Springdale-based Tyson Foods was one of three pork processing companies to recently resolve a long-standing class action lawsuit alleging pork price fixing from 2014 to 2018.

Tyson agreed to pay $50 million to settle its part of the Pork Antitrust Litigation, argued in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, that involved processors and wholesale meat buyers. Tyson admitted no wrongdoing in the case but opted to settle the suit to avoid the risk and expense of continuing litigation that has persisted since 2018.

U.S. District Judge John Tunheim was asked to approve the settlements of Tyson Foods, Clemens Foods at $10 million, and Triumph Foods which settled for $4 million, with none of the defendants admitting wrongdoing.

Tyson Foods and Clemens Foods did not respond to requests for settlement comments. Triumph Foods released a statement indicating that it increased pork supply during the alleged conspiracy and is confident it would have defeated the claims at trial, instead opting to settle and put an end to the lengthy ligation.

Tyson Foods is the second largest pork producer in the U.S. behind Smithfield. Pork comprised 11% of Tyson Foods sales last year at $5.83 billion. Tyson operates six pork packing facilities with a weekly slaughter capacity of 421,000 head. The company will report its second quarter earnings on May 5.

In January, Tyson settled a similar suit involving its beef business, agreeing to pay $72.5 million to settle those claims in a federal court in Denver. This came on the heels of a $115.5 million settlement in price-fixing litigation argued in Maryland federal court against Tyson’s chicken business in December 2024.

Shares of Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) closed Thursday at $61.40, down 63 cents. Over the past 52 weeks, shares have traded between $53.61 and $66.88.