Cargill In Dodge City To Lay Off Employees Due To Tight Supplies

Cargill Beef says it is trimming its workforce at its Dodge City slaughterhouse because of tight beef supplies as the nation’s cattle herd begins to rebuild from drought conditions.

Company spokesman Mark Klein said in an email Thursday the company does not have a firm number on how many workers will be laid off or reassigned. But the remaining workforce is still expected to be "well above" 2,000.

Klein says decisions to lay off workers are never easy, and Cargill looked at every option to avoid it.

Cargill is one of the nation’s biggest meatpackers. It closed its Plainview, Texas, slaughterhouse last year and moved its remaining business to plants in Dodge City; Friona, Texas; and Fort Morgan, Colorado.

Klein says the latest layoffs affect only Dodge City.