Emporia city manager calls Tyson layoffs a major 'setback'

EMPORIA (KSNT) - A major employer in northeast Kansas is set to lay off hundreds of employees in the Emporia area in what is being described as a "setback" for the community by the city manager.

The Kansas Department of Commerce (KDC) shows on its website that a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) has been posted by Tyson Food, Inc. on Dec. 2. This impacts a total of 809 employees at the Tyson Fresh Meats location at 2101 West Sixth Street in Emporia.

WARN notices are required by employers under federal law to provide advance warning to workers when a plant closure or mass layoffs are imminent. This is to help workers and their families find enough time to adjust to the situation and find new employment.

Trey Cocking, Emporia's city manager, told 27 News his office received a letter from Tyson Food, Inc. that the local facility would be closed on Feb. 14, 2025. He said "their loss will be felt" and described the move as a setback as the company is a top employer for the local community.

"What they told us was this was part of a business optimization strategy for them where they're going to move what's done here to other plants," Cocking said. "Sounds like a large portion of business will be moved out to Holcomb out by Garden City. So, basically, it will be an all-in-one operation from the slaughter of the animal all the way to the processing of the animal. Our understanding is that they're looking to do that all under one roof."

Cocking said the company told his office that around a quarter of the employees from Emporia will be absorbed into other locations. The news of this latest round of mass layoffs in Emporia follows the August announcement from tire producer Michelin it would be laying off workers at its plant in the area.

"This is definitely a setback for our community," Cocking said.

27 News reached out to Tyson Food, Inc. regarding this situation. A representative of the company responded with the following message.

"After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to close our beef and pork non-harvest processing facility in Emporia, Kansas to increase the efficiency of our operations. We understand the impact of this decision on our team members and the local community.  

Taking care of our team members is our top priority and we encourage them to apply for other open roles within the company.  

We are also working closely with state and local officials to provide additional resources to those who are impacted.  The state of Kansas is important to Tyson Foods, with employment of more than 5,000 team members across our other Kansas facilities."

Tyson Food, Inc. spokesperson statement on the Emporia layoffs

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