Tyson Foods has announced over 1,200 layoffs at its pork facility in Perry, Iowa — which will close in June. The impacted employees are Americans and legal immigrants. While there are 52,000 opportunities in Tyson’s factories in other states, the fired Perry employees will not be eligible. These jobs are only for illegal immigrants.
Tyson Foods just layed off 1,276 workers at their Perry, Iowa plant, which is closing June 28.
Now they’re hiring 52,000 ILLEGALS for their factories in New York.
Boycott this company! pic.twitter.com/ow64tR81oW
— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) March 15, 2024
The company — which funded President Joe Biden’s campaign — will provide copious benefits for illegal immigrant employees, some of which are not afforded to citizens. These include perks such as childcare, housing, transportation and time off to attend immigration hearings.
Furthermore, Tyson has budgeted $1.5 million annually to provide legal aid to the migrants. In 2023, they paid the fees of over 1300 employees to become citizens.
Tyson already has 42,000 immigrant employees, and it is unclear how many of these are illegal. “We would like to employ another 42,000 if we could find them,” Tyson’s Garett Dolan told Bloomberg.
They have even scheduled job fairs for illegal immigrants.
The impacted employees had no prior notice of the layoffs. Perry is a community of just over 8,000, so the plant closing will be crippling to the local economy. Mayor Dick Cavanagh said to Reuters: “It’s our largest employer in the area. It’s going to be tough to figure out what to do without them.”
Tyson has also been under fire for extensive use of illegal child laborers.
Critics of their hiring practices call for a boycott of Tyson products, which include Tyson Chicken, Jimmy Dean sausages, Ball Park Franks and Sara Lee bread.
Sports media outlet Outkick suggested Tyson might face a boycott similar to the ongoing one against Bud Light. Their X account stated: “Is Tyson Foods the new Bud Light? Some are calling to #BoycottTyson after they fired American workers and teamed up with a refugee group to hire illegal immigrants instead (and pay for their legal fees!)”
The company has been struggling financially, and in 2023 had to close six chicken processing facilities and two beef plants. Last fiscal year, they reported an operating loss of $128 million, compared to a net income of $198 million the previous year.
While the use of illegal immigrants may cut costs, it remains to be seen whether the backlash — and possible boycotts — will negate these savings.
Additionally, the company could face lawsuits over its “woke” hiring practices.
The action group America First Legal posted on X: “It is ILLEGAL under federal law to discriminate against American citizens based on their citizenship in favor of non-citizens of any kind when it comes to employment.”
