SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Tyson Foods officials said Thursday (Feb. 27) the company has hired an outside service provider for certain IT services, a move that will result in the “displacement” of roughly 330 employees. The name of the outside service provider was not disclosed in a company news release. Tyson Foods spokesman Gary Mickelson said the company is a global company with offices across the U.S. – including Northwest Arkansas – as well as other parts of the world.
“While it’s the right thing to do for the business, it’s a very difficult decision,” Scott Spradley, the company’s chief technology officer, said in a statement. “That’s because it will result in organization changes in our information technology team, including some job loss.”
The transition to the service provider will take place over the next several months and result in the displacement of about 330 IT employees, mostly in Springdale and Chicago. Some of the employees will be offered a position with the service provider. Others will be offered a severance and benefits package. Tyson Foods is also bringing in a career transition services firm to help displaced employees find new jobs.
In the news release, the company said the 330 displaced employees represents a large number of the positions Tyson Foods previously disclosed it was eliminating through a restructuring program that started late last year.
