Don Tyson once said, “People make a business. Not numbers, not chickens, not anything else. People make a business.” Our team members have always been the backbone of our company. In good and in challenging times, they have worked hard to be there for consumers across the nation. We’re doing more to support them while they produce food every day during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, we’re announcing nearly $60 million in “thank you” bonuses to 116,000 frontline team members and Tyson truckers in the U.S. Workers can qualify for a one-time $500 bonus, payable during the first week of July. This is based on their work attendance in accordance with our relaxed COVID-19 attendance policy during the months of April, May and June.

As team members continue to keep operations up and running, we’re adding additional protective measures to keep them safe and healthy. We will be offering protective facial coverings for production workers who request them. We’ve already started taking team member temperatures with temporal thermometers before they enter our facilities to limit the spread of COVID-19. To better monitor temperatures, we’re expecting to add infrared scanners following a successful trial at our TMAC research facility.

We’ve built on measures we shared last week, including encouraging team members to stay home if they are sick and intensifying cleaning and sanitation. We’ve also waived the 5 consecutive day waiting period for short term disability benefits so workers can receive pay while they’re sick with the flu or COVID-19.  

While COVID-19 has brought a lot of uncertainty, one thing that will remain certain is that people make a business. Our frontline team members make us who we are. We’re committed in doing everything to be there for them as we navigate through this together.