On a frigid morning after Mass, the basement of St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Lexington, Nebraska, became a gathering place for grief as workers learned their plant would close on Jan. 20, ending 30 years of beef production and 3,200 jobs.
The Plant and the Community
The Tyson Foods plant, which opened in 1990 and was bought by Tyson 11 years later, had become the rhythm of Lexington. Workers ran the A, B, and C shifts, filling restaurants, school pickup lines and the one-screen movie theater that shows Polar Express. The plant processed as many as 5,000 head of cattle a day and was a source of pride for a town of 11,000 residents.
In the years since the acquisition, the plant attracted thousands of workers, nearly doubling Lexington’s population within a decade. Immigrants who never graduated high school, many of whom did not speak English, bought homes, raised children in a safe community and sent them to college. The school district, where at least 20 languages and dialects are spoken, boasts higher high-school graduation and college-attendance rates than the state and national averages.
The Human Impact
“Suddenly they tell us that there’s no more work. Your world closes in on you,” said Alejandra Gutierrez, who works at the plant and has two daughters. She recalled being told of the closure just before Thanksgiving while visiting a college campus with her high school senior, Kimberly. “At that moment, my daughter said she no longer wanted to study,” Gutierrez said. “Because where would we get the money to pay for college?”
Plant worker Arab Adan, a Kenyan immigrant, sat in his car with his two energetic sons, who asked him, “Which state are we gonna go, daddy?” Adan’s only focus is that his kids finish the school year in Lexington, where school officials say nearly half of students have a parent working for Tyson.
“Tyson was our motherland,” Adan said. He and other workers feel the loss of a place that gave them stability. “They only want young people now,” said Juventino Castro, who has worked at Tyson for a quarter-century. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the time I have left.”
“Your financial health is going to change,” workers were told at a retraining session near the plant. “Don’t ignore the bank, they will not go away.” Many older workers, who do not speak English and have not used computers in decades, found the information overwhelming.
Economic Ripple
The closure will affect more than just the 3,200 Tyson employees. The University of Nebraska, Lincoln report estimates total job losses will reach 7,000, largely in Lexington and surrounding counties. Tyson employees alone will lose an estimated $241 million in pay and benefits annually. The plant’s shutdown threatens to unravel a Great Plains town that once offered an attainable American Dream.
Hundreds of families may be forced to leave Lexington’s 11,000 residents, heading east to Omaha or Iowa, or south to Kansas or beyond. The exodus could lead to spinoff layoffs in restaurants, barbershops, grocers, convenience stores and taco trucks. “Losing 3,000 jobs in a city of 10,000 to 12,000 people is as big a closing event as we’ve seen virtually for decades,” said Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University.
Local businesses feel the strain. Los Jalapenos, a Mexican restaurant near the plant, serves many Tyson workers. Owner Armando Martinez says the restaurant could close if it can’t keep up with bills. “There’s just nowhere we can go,” Martinez said, noting his health challenges and praying for a miracle that Tyson will change its mind.
Tyson’s Position and Community Response
Tyson says it is closing the plant to “right-size” its beef business after a historically low cattle herd in the U.S. and the company’s expected loss of $600 million on beef production next fiscal year. Asked for comment about plans for the site, Tyson said it “is currently assessing how we can repurpose the facility within our own production network.” The company did not provide details or say whether it will offer support to the community.
City Manager Joe Pepplitsch hopes Tyson will put the plant up for sale and a new company will bring jobs. “Tyson owes this community a debt. I think they have a responsibility here to help ease some of the impact,” Pepplitsch said, noting Tyson doesn’t pay city taxes due to a deal negotiated decades ago.
At St. Ann’s, parishioners gave the cash in their pockets to a fund for families in financial need, despite knowing they’ll be out of work next month. Afterward, Francisco Antonio ran through his future employment options with a sad smile. After the plant closes, the 52-year-old father of four said he’ll stay a few months in Lexington and look for work, though “now there’s no future.”
Key Takeaways
- Tyson’s Lexington plant will close Jan. 20, ending 3,200 jobs and 30 years of beef production.
- Total job losses in the region are projected at 7,000, with $241 million in annual pay and benefits lost.
- The closure threatens to unravel Lexington’s economy, pushing families to leave and causing ripple effects in local businesses.
The town’s future hangs in balance as residents, businesses and officials grapple with the loss of their economic lifeline and the uncertainty of what comes next.
