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Tyson will pay $221M to settle antitrust suit

By TERENCE CORRIGAN - tgnews@t-g.com
Posted 1/21/21

On Wednesday, Tyson Foods Inc. agreed to pay $221.5 million to settle antitrust litigation. Tyson, Pilgrim's Pride Corp, Purdue Farms Inc. and Sanderson Farms Inc. are all defendants in the case filed in 2016, accusing them of conspiring in price-fixing schemes. ...

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Tyson will pay $221M to settle antitrust suit

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On Wednesday, Tyson Foods Inc. agreed to pay $221.5 million to settle antitrust litigation.

Tyson, Pilgrim's Pride Corp, Purdue Farms Inc. and Sanderson Farms Inc. are all defendants in the case filed in 2016, accusing them of conspiring in price-fixing schemes. The plaintiffs in the case are those who buy directly from Tyson: restaurants, supermarkets and food distributors. The plaintiffs in the case accused the chicken producers of illegally working together since 2008 to inflate chicken prices.

On Jan. 11, Pilgrims Pride agreed to settle the price-fixing claims by paying $75 million.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed criminal charges against 10 poultry company executives last year accusing them of price-fixing and bid rigging. One of the executives charged criminally is the CEO of Pilgrim's Pride. All the executives have pled not guilty.

Tyson reportedly said it "is committed to competing vigorously, honestly and in compliance with the letter and the spirit of the antitrust laws and respects the important role that the Department of Justice plays enforcing these laws." Tyson is reportedly fully cooperating with the Department of Justice investigation and through that cooperation is applying for the DOJ Corporate Leniency Program under which none of its employees will face prosecution, criminal fines or prosecution.

Tyson also recently faced antitrust claims that it used its buying power to drive down the cost of chickens it bought from farmers for one of its processing plants in Kentucky.

Poultry processors are also fighting antitrust claims alleging that they engaged in schemes to keep wages of their mostly migrant workforce low.