Tyson Fresh Meats is temporarily idling production at its Columbus Junction, Iowa, pork plant due to a mechanical malfunction in the refrigeration system Tuesday evening. No one was hurt; however, company officials currently believe plant operations could be down for a few days as the team evaluates and mobilizes repairs. It remains too early to provide a definitive timeline for resuming production.

“We’re grateful to the plant management for quickly and efficiently evacuating team members from the building and keeping them safe first and foremost,” stated Steve Stouffer, Group President, Tyson Fresh Meats. “This has been a challenging year, and we want to ensure our team members are safe. Full-time, active team members will continue to be paid weekly until production resumes.”

Stouffer said all full-time active employees are guaranteed 40 hours/week pay.

“We’re taking steps to temporarily move production to other plants,” Stouffer said. “With Tyson Foods multiple pork facilities, we are able to use our other Tyson locations within our network to help keep livestock and product supplies moving in a timely manner with limited customer or farmer disruptions.”

The plant employs approximately 1,100 team members.

Source: Tyson Fresh Meats