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Kimber Torres

MGMT 325a: SWOT Paper

05/28/20

Tyson Foods Inc: COVID Disaster

Tyson Foods Inc, started by John Tyson in 1935, has become a multibillion-dollar company and one of the largest processors and distributors of chicken, pork, and beef product companies around the world (Kapela, 2017). This colossal giant is responsible for producing “1 in 5 pounds of chicken, beef, and pork in the U.S” with a total of 141,000 employees with processing plants in four countries (Purpose and Values, 2018). As a Fortune

500 company (Kapela, 2017), Tyson Foods Inc. brought home during fiscal year 2019 $42.4 billion dollars with brands such as Tyson, , Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Sara Lee, and

31 other brands (Our Brands, 2018). With their eyes on sustainability, innovation, and a strong workplace culture, Tyson Food Inc has been hit with a chilling blow of the COVID-19 virus.

The COVID-19 virus pandemic is responsible for 1,733,571 confirmed cases and 101,099 deaths in the United States of the 5,734,546 cases and 354,177 deaths around the world

(Coronavirus, 2020). In one month, from April 2020 to May 2020, the company saw a jump from

1,600 confirmed cases to 7,000, effectively closing three large plants in Indiana and

(Gangitano, 2020). What does this mean for the future of Tyson Foods Inc.? This paper will analyze the companies standing using a SWOT analysis or “a comparison of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that help executives formulate strategy” (Bateman, 2019, pp.124) to predict future projections.

One major strength Tyson Foods Inc. has in spades is its size and presence in the market.

Twenty percent of the meat processed and packaged in the United States is supplied by Tyson 2

Foods Inc. (Purpose and Values, 2017). Another strength is their strength in culture and values.

Tyson Food’s focus their culture on their 5Cs of caring, candor creativity, collaboration, and commitment to achieve growth, delivery, and sustainability (Purpose and Values, 2020). It is with this culture that Tyson Foods Inc. claimed accepted responsibility to act and initiated a response effort to protect and promote their employee’ health and safety to the COVID virus.

Tyson Foods plans on partnering with AXIOM MEDICAL to screen each team member at the beginning of each shift, monitor and care for positive carriers, provide protection face masks and barriers throughout the facility to enforce social distancing (Tyson Doods Inc. Releases, 2020).

The weaknesses seen by Tyson Foods can be seen throughout the food and service industry around the world. The COVIOD-19 pandemic has halted most restaurants slowed down most grocery sales. It is during the spring to summer months that a company such as Tyson

Foods would see an increase in sales as weather improves. According to last year’s DOW, May

12, 2019 yielded $82.49 in shares after climbing from a depression of $51.73 on December 16,

2018. In 2020, May 12 reported a $58.21 stock worth (Tyson Foods Inc. Cl A, 2020). That leaves 2020 with a discrepancy of $24.28, starting the season off well below last year’s numbers.

In response to the growing cases seen around the United States, Tyson Foods Inc’s chairman

John H. Tyson has stated that the “food supply chain is breaking” and consumers can expect a shortage of meat produced in the future that is projected to “drive prices up” (Bing, 2020). Mr.

Tyson explains the massive amounts of food waste where an estimation of “millions of animals - will be depopulated because of closures of processing facilities” (Browne, 2020).

With challenges come opportunities for enhancement and innovation. This pandemic is causing many changes in ideals and practices to ensure production goes as smooth as possible.

This period of contingency has caused many challenges where solutions can be found that will 3 benefit the company and the workforce. The closures are causing Tyson Foods Inc to look at their procedures and practices to ensure each facility is sanitized (Gangitano, 2020). By providing transparency and accountability of their facilities and workforce, they are upholding their values found throughout the company’s culture statement. In addition to updating processes and procedures, Tyson Food Inc. continues to plan and innovate for future demand. In the last year, Tyson started releasing their own plant based, meatless products and environmental e. This market is expected to grow up to $2.5 billion (74% of current demand) by the year 2023 (Lucas,

2019).

There are many threats that can be found in this domino effect in supply and demand.

The COVID and quarantine effort has limited production and social activities that come with it.

Since Tyson hold a large portion of the meat processing market, the closing of large facilities will have a detrimental effect on the market. The DOW remains at a low level while the season would originally be projected to pick up will find the lack in product and increase of employee cases to severely threaten the companies profits for this fiscal year. John Tyson made a public statement showing they are projecting a break in the food supply chain and waste issue society will hope to prepare and recover from.

Tyson Foods Inc. has a long reputation of being affordable and dependable. It is a household name that has been on the market for 85 years. Tyson Foods control approximately

20% of the meat market found in the United States market with a growing presence in plant- based “meat” products. The company’s production deficit will have a large impact on the meat market. The company itself will be able to bounce back. The only impact I can see this having on

Tyson Foods Inc. is society’s recognition of the how much this company has on the meat market, requiring a contingency plan if history were to repeat itself. 4

References

Bateman, Thomas S., et al. Management: Leading & Collaborating in a Competitive World. 12th

ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2019.

Browne, Michael. “Tyson Warns 'the Food Supply Chain Is Breaking'.” Supermarket News, 27

Apr. 2020, www.supermarketnews.com/meat/tyson-warns-food-supply-chain-breaking.

“Coronavirus 2019-NCov Statistics Update (Live).” Coronavirus, 2018, virusncov.com/.

Gangitano, Alex. “11,000 Coronavirus Cases Tied to Three Meat Processors: Report.” TheHill,

The Hill, 26 May 2020, thehill.com/homenews/499511-11000-covid-19-cases-tied-to-

three-meat-processors-report.

Kapela, Gerald, January. “Tyson Foods Inc.” Grocery.com, 24 Jan. 2017,

www.grocery.com/tyson-foods-inc/.

Lucas, Amelia. “After Exiting , Tyson Foods Will Launch Meatless Products This

Summer.” CNBC, CNBC, 6 May 2019, www..com/2019/05/06/tyson-foods-will-

launch-meatless-products-this-summer.html.

Myre, Greg. “How Much Did WikiLeaks Damage U.S. National Security?” NPR, NPR, 12 Apr.

2019, www..org/2019/04/12/712659290/how-much-did-wikileaks-damage-u-s-

national-security.

“Our Brands.” Tyson Foods, 2018, www.tysonfoods.com/our-brands. 5

“Purpose and Values.” Tyson Foods, www.tysonfoods.com/who-we-are/our-story/purpose-

values.

“Tyson Food Says Food Supply Chain Is Breaking, Which Will Drive Prices Up.” Bing,

Microsoft, 27 Apr. 2020,

www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tyson+foods+break+in+supply+chain.

“Tyson Foods Inc. Cl A.” MarketWatch, Market Watch Inc., 28 May 2020,

www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/tsn.

“Tyson Foods, Inc. Releases Results From Covid-19 Testing at Temperanceville, Va Plant.”

Tyson Foods, www.tysonfoods.com/news/news-releases/2020/5/tyson-foods-inc-releases-

results-covid-19-testing-temperanceville-va.