Mega meat-packers will spend billions on robot workers as challenges with human labor persist
Rosey the Robot ribber… clockin’ in. The US meat industry does more than $200B/year in sales on the back of booming consumer demand that hit a record high in 2021. But meat-packers are struggling to fill factory roles after losing workers during the pandemic. Now companies including Tyson Foods, Smithfield, and Cargill plan to spend a combined $1B+ on automation to boost efficiency. Picture: robot cattle drivers, automated bone saws, and mechanical rib pullers. The robo-investment could lower labor costs as losses stack up:
Paltry poultry profits: Tyson lost $648M in its last fiscal year as operating costs rose and protein prices fell. JBS, the world’s largest meat-packer, lost nearly $200M.
After-school dangers… As meat-packers push for futuristic factory floors, the industry risks getting stuck in the past with dangerous working conditions. Last year, a federal probe found children working in 13 slaughterhouses in eight states. And in February the Labor Department sought an injunction to stop the use of “oppressive child labor” by a meatpacking cleaning company that put children as young as 13 at risk. The Labor Dept. said kids were scrubbing blood off dangerous “kill floor” machines during overnight shifts.
Danger zone: Kids are 2X more likely than adults to be seriously injured while working, and meat workers are at higher risk of getting injuries that require missing work.
Tech isn’t a fix-all… Meat giants say they hope their big tech investments will help save them $$ and keep workers in hard-to-fill jobs (turnover’s high). But tech alone isn’t likely to fix the industry’s child-labor problem or its postpandemic staffing struggles. A recent survey suggested that more workers would take meatpacking jobs if they paid more.