|
The
biggest U.S. meat company by sales said on Wednesday it will
relocate all corporate employees from offices in Chicago and
suburban Downers Grove, along with those in Dakota Dunes, South
Dakota, to its headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas.
It is the latest shakeup for Tyson, which has about 1,000
corporate employees in the Chicago-area and South Dakota
offices. Nationwide, the meat company has about 120,000
employees, with about 114,000 of them working in production
plants.
Tyson said it will begin a "phased relocation" of the corporate
employees early next year and that the move will benefit
collaboration and decision making. Members of the Tyson family,
which founded Tyson Foods, and several top executives have long
been based in Arkansas.
A company spokesperson said no layoffs are associated with the
relocations. It was not known how many office workers would make
the move.
A spokesperson for Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said Tyson
"is making decisions based on its unique corporate needs" and
growing in other parts of the state. Tyson said in August that
an expansion project at a Caseyville, Illinois, plant will
create 250 jobs.
Still, Tyson's decision deals another blow to Chicago's business
community after hedge fund Citadel said in June it was moving
its global headquarters from the city to Miami. Boeing also said
this year it would move its headquarters to Virginia from
Chicago, and Caterpillar announced plans to relocate to Texas
from a Chicago suburb.
Kellogg, however, based the corporate headquarters for its
largest business, snacks, in Chicago after announcing a split
into three independent companies this summer.
Tyson gained its Chicago office when it acquired Jimmy Dean
sausage maker Hillshire Brands in 2014. It then ran its prepared
foods business there.
Last week, Tyson said Noelle O'Mara, who was group president of
prepared foods, had left the job and would be replaced by
Stewart Glendinning, who was chief financial officer. John R.
Tyson, great-grandson of the company's founder, took over as
finance chief.
Tyson shares fell 1.2% on Wednesday and are down about 24% this
year.
(Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Bill
Berkrot)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
