Team member actions not aligned with company’s core values
Springdale, Arkansas – November 19, 2020 – ĢƵ. today issued the following statement from ĢƵ President & CEO Dean Banks in response to allegations made in an amended lawsuit involving the company’s pork plant in Waterloo, Iowa:
“We are extremely upset about the accusations involving some of the leadership at our Waterloo plant. ĢƵ is a family company with 139,000 team members and these allegations do not represent who we are, or our Core Values and Team Behaviors. We expect every team member at ĢƵ to operate with the utmost integrity and care in everything we do. We have suspended, without pay, the individuals allegedly involved and have retained the law firm Covington & Burling LLP to conduct an independent investigation led by former Attorney General Eric Holder. If these claims are confirmed, we’ll take all measures necessary to root out and remove this disturbing behavior from our company.
Our top priority is and remains the health and safety of our team members. We’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars to transform our U.S. facilities, including the Waterloo plant, with protective measures, from walk-through and workstation dividers to and always-on testing.”
###
Media contact: Gary Mickelson, 479-236-9022