Tyson Dumps 1,761 Texas Workers Amid Worst Cattle Shortage in 75 Years

Amarillo Plant Loses Entire Evening Shift

The layoffs begin January 20, 2026, and they will hit one of the Texas Panhandle’s largest employers. Tyson Foods is eliminating its entire B-shift at the Amarillo beef plant, cutting 1,761 workers in a single sweep.

Many of those employees are refugees who moved to Amarillo specifically for these jobs. The announcement came just before Thanksgiving, and the timing left families scrambling to figure out what comes next.

Nebraska Plant Closes Completely

Amarillo is not alone. Tyson is also shutting down its beef plant in Lexington, Nebraska, on the same day, eliminating 3,200 more jobs.

That facility processed nearly 5,000 cattle per day, roughly 5% of the nation’s total beef slaughter capacity. Together, the two closures remove up to 8,000 head of daily processing from the market.

It is the first time one of the four major meatpackers has permanently closed a plant during the current cattle shortage.

Smallest Cattle Herd Since 1951

The reason Tyson is shrinking comes down to math. The U.S. cattle herd stood at 86.7 million head as of January 2025, the smallest count in 74 years.

Years of severe drought across Texas, Oklahoma, and other cattle states forced ranchers to sell off breeding cows instead of rebuilding their herds.

Fewer cows mean fewer calves, which means fewer cattle available for slaughter. The supply chain is running dry.

Tyson Lost $426 Million on Beef

Tyson’s beef division reported an adjusted operating loss of $426 million for fiscal year 2025, which ended in September.

The company projects losses of $400 to $600 million more in fiscal 2026.

Cattle costs rose by nearly $2 billion compared to the prior year because ranchers are getting record-high prices for their animals.

When cattle cost more and there are fewer of them, meatpackers lose money on every head they process.

Amarillo Loses an Economic Anchor

Tyson is the third-largest employer in Amarillo.

Before the cuts, the plant employed about 4,300 people. The Amarillo Chamber of Commerce lists it as one of the city’s most important economic engines.

When a single employer of that size cuts 40% of its workforce, the ripple effects reach grocery stores, landlords, car dealerships, and every small business that depends on those paychecks.

Refugees Face Language Barriers

Many Tyson workers in Amarillo are refugees from Myanmar, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other countries.

They came to the Texas Panhandle because meatpacking plants offered steady work that did not require fluent English.

Pastor Lal Bawl of the Amarillo Emmanuel Revival Church told local reporters that about 70 of his congregation members work at the plant.

He said most will struggle to find comparable jobs because of language barriers.

Childcare Program Shuts Down Too

Tyson funded a program called Night Owl through the Maverick Boys and Girls Club of Amarillo. It provided free overnight childcare for 40 children whose parents worked the B-shift.

Kids were picked up from school, fed dinner, helped with homework, and cared for until their parents finished work at 1 am.

That program ends January 20, the same day the layoffs take effect. The timing left families with almost no chance to make other arrangements.

Ground Beef Hits $6.25 a Pound

Consumers are paying record prices at the meat counter.

Ground beef averaged $6.25 per pound in July 2025, the highest ever recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

By November, prices climbed to $6.54. Beef and veal prices overall rose nearly 14% compared to a year earlier.

The shortage of cattle is the main driver, but strong consumer demand for protein-heavy diets has kept sales steady even as prices climb.

Drought Wiped Out Breeding Stock

The cattle shortage traces back to a brutal drought cycle that began around 2021. Ranchers across Texas and the Southern Plains watched their pastures dry up and their ponds go empty.

Many had to choose between buying expensive hay from hundreds of miles away or selling their breeding cows for slaughter.

Most chose to sell. The female cattle that would have produced the next generation of calves went to slaughterhouses instead.

Processing Capacity Drops 7 to 9%

The Amarillo and Lexington closures together reduce U.S. beef processing capacity by 7% to 9%, according to industry analysts.

That means fewer places for ranchers to sell their cattle, which could actually push cattle prices down even as consumer beef prices stay high.

The meatpackers in the middle will have fewer competitors bidding for animals, giving them more power to set terms with ranchers.

Relief Is Years Away

Rebuilding a cattle herd takes time. A heifer retained for breeding today will not produce a calf ready for market for another two to three years.

Industry economists say the herd likely will not start growing again until late 2026 at the earliest, and meaningful supply increases will not arrive until 2027 or 2028.

Until then, beef will remain expensive, and workers like those in Amarillo will bear the cost of an industry caught between too few cattle and too many mouths to feed.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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