West Liberty Foods to furlough hundreds of employees for months
Lang
5/9/20
Last month employees at West Liberty Foods faced a COVID-19 outbreak at the company’s West Liberty plant. Now, they face months of furloughs.
The company told The Associated Press on Friday that about one-third of the 994 West Liberty employees would be temporarily laid off this fall and winter, likely from November through February.
West Liberty Foods officials cited the closing of restaurants due to COVID-19, which has drastically reduced demand for its products. That created a backlog of meat, which is currently being kept in cold storage. The company will begin selling that meat in November instead of processing new turkeys. That means workers who would normally process those turkeys will not be needed for about four months. Those employees will be eligible for unemployment, plus West Liberty Foods will offer them an additional 25% supplement. They will also be allowed to keep their health insurance.
West Liberty Foods also announced Friday that 136 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 after another round of testing at the West Liberty plant last week.