Source: REUTERS, 6/15/20

Smithfield Foods Inc [SFII.UL] is missing about a third of its employees at a South Dakota pork plant because they are quarantined or afraid to return to work after a severe coronavirus outbreak, according to the workers’ union. Tyson Foods Inc (TSN.N) was forced to briefly close its Storm Lake, Iowa plant - a month after U.S. President Donald Trump’s April 28 order telling meatpackers to stay open - as worker absences hobbled its slaughter operations. Nationwide, 30% to 50% of meatpacking employees were absent last week, said Mark Lauritsen, a vice president at the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW).

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