(This story updates with Tyson commenting to Times on plant closing.)
Springdale-based meat processing giant Tyson Foods and Colorado-based processor JBS USA have agreed to pay a total of $127.2 million to settle a federal lawsuit accusing them of violating antitrust laws and suppressing wages at meatpacking plants.
Just days after the proposed settlement became public, Tyson confirmed Monday that it plans to close a pork-processing plant in Perry, Iowa — a move that would cut more than 1,200 jobs.
In an email, Tyson said, “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. 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.”
While this decision was not easy, it emphasizes our focus to optimize the efficiency of our operations to best serve our customers. Iowa remains a key state for Tyson Foods, with employment of more than 9,000 team members across our other Iowa facilities.”
The company closed at least six processing plants across the country last year, including poultry plants in North Little Rock and Van Buren.
The wage-fixing lawsuit is a class action suit brought on behalf of tens of thousands of workers at 140 plants, Reuters reported Monday. The plaintiffs say Tyson, JBS and others conspired to keep wages low and shared confidential data on compensation with one another, allegedly violating antitrust law.
The preliminary agreement in the wage-fixing lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Colorado on Friday. If a judge signs off on the deal, it would push total settlements to $138.5 million since the original class-action lawsuit was filed in 2022, Reuters reported.
Tyson is to pay $72.25 million under the deal, and JBS — which is owned by Brazil’s JBS SA — will pay $55 million, according to Reuters.
Neither company admitted wrongdoing in the proposed settlements, and both have denied the allegations.
In the email, Tyson said the Iowa closing “emphasizes our focus to optimize the efficiency of our operations to best serve our customers.”
Tyson did not address an Arkansas Times question about what connection, if any, the closing has to the proposed lawsuit settlement.
