Cargill Beef says it is trimming its workforce at its Dodge City slaughterhouse because of tight beef supplies as the nation’s cattle herd begins to rebuild from drought conditions.

According to the Associated Press, company spokesman Mark Klein said in an email Thursday the company doesn’t have a firm number on how many workers will be laid off or reassigned. But the remaining workforce is still expected to be “well above” 2,000.

Klein says decisions to lay off workers are never easy, and Cargill looked at every option to avoid it. He says the latest layoffs affect only Dodge City.

Source: AP via Topeka Capital-Journal