April 27, 2020

WH Group's Smithfield Foods shuts down Illinois pork factory due to COVID-19

Some of its 1,700-total workforce in its Monmouth, Illinois pork processing facility tested positive for COVID-19, reported Reuters.

This news comes after a worker advocacy group filed a lawsuit against Smithfield over working conditions at a plant in Missouri. It is claimed that workers in the Missouri plant were forced to work closely together during the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to the biggest meatpacking union in the United States, 5,000 workers in the industry have been exposed or infected with COVID-19, with 13 deaths.

Competitors such as Tyson Foods have closed down plants to halt the spread of the disease, but the closures have pressured farmers who have backlog of livestock.

Smithfield said its Monmouth factory accounts for 3% of fresh pork supplies in the United States. China's WH Group owns Smithfield.

-      Reuters