A Tyson Foods plant has begun to offer employees 36 hours’ worth of payment for 27 hours’ work, in a move that shows how employers are struggling to retain employees.
Tyson Foods in New Holland, Pennsylvania, will make staff who work three days a week eligible for the company’s full benefits as full-time employees, including dental, medical, and vision, as reported by the media outlet.
Workers can choose between first and second shifts from Monday through Wednesday or Thursday through Saturday. A nine-hour workday will feature one hour of paid leave with two hours added in extra.
“I think, by us going to this new work schedule, it’s going to give people the opportunity to have that home-life balance, where they can come to work but have that time outside of work to enjoy their families, enjoy their hobbies and other things,” Gonzalez said. “I think this new schedule will be a great success.”
Workers do not need to rotate between shifts providing stability to their work timings. They can also save time on child care as they get to stay home for longer periods. The new schedules are expected to begin next month.
Tyson is also offering a $3,000 sign-on bonus for new employees and has increased its hourly rate to $17 from $16 in the plant. For the second shift, it’s gone up to $19. Employees hired for the Thursday-Sunday schedule get a $4,000 sign-on bonus while specific technician-level roles get $5,000 bonuses. The offer apparently does not end there.
Job seekers at the company’s recent job fair were given 40 pounds of frozen chicken free of charge, the same as the charity giveaway to the needy conducted at the event. The New Holland plant currently employs 334 people, and plans to bring in 200 more.
Many workers throughout the country are resigning en masse, looking for different opportunities and better pay with more benefits. Companies are finding it increasingly difficult to hire and retain workforce. Labor shortages combined with supply chain disruptions have resulted in shortages of products and high prices.
The rise in wages could be offset by increasing product prices. Citing high inflation and raw materials’ costs, Tyson has increased prices for most of its products. This has led to sales revenue going up by 20 percent in the past quarter despite a four percent drop in volume because of price increases.
In 2022, revenue is expected to grow to approximately $50 billion from this year’s $47 billion. The company has also announced a $50 million in year-end bonuses to its 86,000 employees.
