Jan. 05, 2007 - 18:41 MST

MONKEY BUSINESS

Swift & Company appears to be not so swift now. There is an article in this morning's The Rocky Mountain News in the business section regarding this old line meat packing business. Written by Joyzelle Davis of that paper, quoted here in part:

RAIDS TO COST SWIFT $30 million

Employee training, bonuses add to toll of lost efficiency

"Federal raids that detained 1,300 suspected illegal immigrants working at Swift & Co. plants last month could cost the meat-processing company as much as $30 million, company officials said."

"Swift estimated that the sweep by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will cost about $20 million in lost operating efficiency as new employees are trained, and another $10 million in hiring and retention bonuses to restaff the six facilities. The 1,300 arrested employees amounted to about 9 percent of the company's work force."

"In Greeley (Colorado, Swift placed newspaper ads offering $1,500 hiring bonuses. About 260 of the suspected illegal immigrants worked in the Greeley beef-processing plant, the company's third largest."

"Operations at the six plants were suspended for about seven hours during the Dec. 12 raids; then the company resumed operations at a reduced level."

"Output levels are expected to be below historical levels over the near term," Greeley based Swift said in a statement."

"The meat-processing business requires a very high volume of prodction to cover overhead costs, said Kevin Good, a senior analyst at Denver-based Cattle Fax, so any disruption likely will have an impact."

"Within the industry, you recognize that if you can't run at capacity, you're behind the eight ball," Good said."

"Swift made the disclosure Thursday with its second-quarter earnings release. Spokesman Sean McHugh said the company wouldn't comment beyond the news release until today, when Swift officials will hold a conference call with investors and financial analysts."

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And the article says that the two main competitors to Swift are Cargill and Tyson and are ramping up production at their facilities.

And of course tail-gating blizzards on the Colorado plains and nearby states are having their disastrous effect on ranchers and their cattle, which will affect the meat processing business along with their new hires, bonuses and training.

In another article in this morning's paper, a few quotes from an article by David Montero of the Rocky Mountain News:

Cattle deaths reach 3,500; agency gets relief to the stranded

Thursday was the last day for hay airlifts to cattle stranded in the snow-socked southeastern plains, but ground support will continue today through several state agencies."

"The Colorado National Guard had a C-130 plane and seven helicopters dropping hay, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife used snowcats on the ground to deliver relief. The Guard also delivered relief supplies on the ground Thursday and planned to continue today."

"Don Ament, director of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, said he still feared a major disaster was just beginning to reveal itself."

"A friend just said we're seeing the trucks rolling out of here with the dead animals to the rendering works," Ament said. "Then we lost some hogs under a collapsed shed, and the feed yards have lost quite a few too."

"An estimated 3,500 cattle are believed to have died on rangeland in six counties in southeastern Colorado, said Leonard Pruett, the region's agriculture extension agent for Colorado State University."

"For the most part, the farmers that have been out and found their cattle have found them in good condition," he said."

"But Pruett said the toll may rise because range cattle that survived could still contract fatal lung infections related to the stress of the storm and dehydration>"

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Fortunately the storm moving through here will just put a light dusting down there in the corner of our state, but even a puff of snow is disheartening to folks there, I think.

So Swift is a player in a dangerous game, almost as much a gambler as the rancher. However Swift's actions in employing illegal immigrants does seem to give them a black eye. And it seems obvious to me that Swift knew they were working illegals. I wonder if the politicians can keep Swift free and clear in this ?

But only monkeys are efficient at conducting MONKEY BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . . . .

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