Tyson Plans to Restart Georgia Meat Plant in Phases After Fire

By Isis Almeida

December 31, 2024 at 1:42PM EST

Signage ooutside a Tyson Foods Inc. plant in Union City, Tennessee, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. American poultry farmers were already struggling to boost production before deadly avian influenza started popping up for the first time in several years. Tyson said it was heightening biosecurity measures after the deadly bird flu strain was detected. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Tyson Foods Inc. is planning to restart a Georgia meat plant in phases after a fire last week that killed one and left several injured, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The company is working to begin operations at the facility in Camilla after New Year’s Day, said the person, who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public. Tyson aims to have the factory fully or near-fully operational some time next week, the person said.

Tyson didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The largest meat packer in the US said last week that it was investigating the cause of a late-night fire that hit its plant. More than 1,500 people work at the facility, which is a critical employer in a town of just about 5,000.