Jennie-O Turkey Store has reopened all three plants that it voluntarily idled due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company on May 12 announced that its plant on Willmar Avenue in Willmar, Minnesota, is resuming operations with a limited group of workers, with plans to ramp up production over the next several days.
The plant had been closed since late April, on the same day that the company suspended operations at another facility in Willmar. Jennie-O Turkey Store announced on May 7 that its other Willmar plant, located on Benson Avenue, was reopening. One day later, the company announced that it was reopening its other idled plant, in Melrose, Minnesota.
“Jennie-O is an important part of the communities where we live and work. We have a special relationship with our communities built on trust, and that trust has proven to be incredibly important as we work together to do our part to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Jennie-O Turkey Store President Steve Lykken said in a press release.
“COVID-19 affects all of us and we must work together to stop its spread.in the communities where we live and work. Our team members have a great deal of pride in the work that they have done, and will continue to do, as this pandemic impacts our society. We have worked very hard on our industry-leading efforts to maintain and enhance safety protections for our team members. We are glad to have all our facilities operating and, most importantly, that we put the safety of our staff first throughout this pandemic and will continue to do so. We are excited to get back to work and to provide the food that people need right now.”
The company launched KEEP COVID OUT! as an awareness and educational campaign that reinforces the preventative measures the company is taking throughout its facilities and the efforts of its team members in our communities. These include procedures such as temperature screening, providing masks to employees, reconfiguration of common areas and workstations, revised shift scheduling, new guidelines on carpooling and reinforcing proper social distancing measures inside and outside of the facility.
Jennie-O Turkey Store, a subsidiary of Hormel Foods, is the second largest turkey company in the United States. In 2019, the company slaughtered 1.23 million pounds of live turkeys.
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