08/21/06 Pasco plant survives Tyson consolidation

Washington Ag August 21, 2006 Beef processing will be scaled back at Tyson Foods plant in Pasco as part of a comprehensive plan to operate more efficiently. That plan includes the permanent closure of Tyson's Boise, Idaho, beef slaughter plant. The Pasco plant will continue its one shift of beef slaughter but will trim back one of its two beef processing shifts because the facility will no longer be receiving beef carcasses from Boise. Richard Bond, president and CEO of Tyson Foods, says the consolidation is part of a much broader strategy designed to return Tyson Foods to profitability, while positioning the business for long-term success by ensuring the operations are cost effective. Tyson senior group vice president Jim Lochner, says the actions are expected to result in a more efficient use of Pasco's production capacity because more cattle should be available for slaughter at the facility. Tyson will continue to buy cattle in the Boise region for slaughter at Pasco. The closing of the Boise plant means the elimination of beef slaughter capacity of 16-hundred cattle per day or about 470-thousand head a year. The consolidation means the loss of 500 positions in Pasco and 270 jobs in Boise. I'm Bob Hoff.