JBS trim workforce in Argentina

21 May 2008



Restrictions on beef exports may force JBS SA, who recently reported a third successive quarterly loss, to cut production and fire workers in Argentina. Joesley Mendonca Batista, president and CEO of the Sao Paulo, Brazil-based beef giant, told investors his company will begin scaling back production by 30% and lay off 1,500 of the 4,000 workers in Argentina, where they operate five beef plants, if the Argentine government doesn't lift export restrictions.


The plan also calls for shifting operations to the production and sale of fresh beef from processed beef, which Argentines aren't buying. ‘We cannot keep producing a product that has no client', Batista said. He added that JBS can continue to serve their processed beef customers through production at similar plants in Brazil and sell what would be exports of fresh beef to Argentina's domestic market. On May 7 Argentina's government imposed a new measure capping beef exports in an effort to ensure domestic supplies.



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