Smithfield resumes operations in Sioux Falls, details plans for scaling up

May 7, 2020

Smithfield Foods resumed operations at it Sioux Falls facility today after receiving confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture that it is in compliance with CDC guidance, the company announced in a statement.

The harvest floor will reopen May 11, and the company anticipates that the facility will be fully operational by late May, it said.

COVID-19 testing, which is being administered by the state of South Dakota, is available to all Smithfield employees before returning to work. More than 2,000 employees have been tested. More tests will be conducted in the coming weeks as the company slowly ramps up its operations.

The Sioux Falls plant, which has been closed for more than three weeks after an outbreak of COVID1-9 among workers, is one of the largest pork processing facilities in the country, representing 4 percent to 5 percent of U.S. pork production. It supplies nearly 130 million servings of food per week, or about 18 million servings per day, and employs 3,700 people.

“The Smithfield reopening is welcome news for South Dakota’s pig farmers,” Glenn Muller, executive director of the South Dakota Pork Producers, said in a statement. “As employees return to the plant tomorrow, we want them to know how much we appreciate and value the role they play in helping our state’s pig farmers meet consumer demand for pork. This is a significant and important step forward in normalizing our food supply chain.”

Smithfield provided photos showing some of the steps it is taking in its plants to keep workers from contracting or spreading COVID-19. That includes providing personal protective equipment.

“I toured the plant with our Joint Union Management Safety Committee and was impressed with the measures put in place to protect employees. Smithfield is doing everything they can for the employees and their safety. We stand with Smithfield to get this plant back open,” said BJ Motley, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 304A.

Smithfield also has implemented mass thermal scanning and installed physical barriers on its production floors and in break areas.

Inside, workers will find social distancing markers.

Reminders are posted in multiple languages.

These measures remain mandatory and nonnegotiable conditions for the company to operate, Smithfield said.

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Smithfield resumes operations in Sioux Falls, details plans for scaling up

Smithfield is ramping up operations at its Sioux Falls plant. Here’s a look at some of the changes workers will find when they begin going back to their jobs.

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