UNITED STATES-NEBRASKA BEEF.
Friday Nebraska Beef Ltd claimed that reductions in staff at its Omaha, Neb.-based plant are part of preparations for an installation of new food safety equipment, not a symptom of the economic downturn.
James Timmerman, the company’s vice president of administration, said that over the next several weeks Nebraska Beef will implement an entirely new food safety process involving ozination and probiotic technologies that aim to reduce microbials.
The new equipment represents the company’s "evolving food safety system," he said. To accommodate the installation, Nebraska Beef is reducing chill cooler capacity by 25 percent in order to free up space.
This has resulted in a temporary 25 percent reduction in production, to about 1,700 head of cattle per day from roughly 2,100 head per day, and some reductions in staff.
Timmerman declined to say how many people have been let go.
